Basilicum is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae, first described in 1802. It contains only one known species, Basilicum polystachyon, native to Africa, Madagascar, southern Asia (Saudi Arabia, India, China, Indochina, Borneo, Philippines, etc.), New Guinea, Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant FamiliesSuddee, S., Paton, A.J. & Parnell, J.A.N. (2005). Taxonomic Revision of the tribe Ocimeae Dumort (Lamiaceae) in continental South East Asia III. Ociminae. Kew Bulletin 60: 3-75.Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.Thulin, M. (ed.) (2006). Flora of Somalia 3: 1-626. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.Khanam, M. & Hassan, M.A. (2008). Lamiaceae. Flora of Bangladesh 58: 1-161. Bangladesh National Herbarium, Dhaka.
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