Ocimum basilicum
Basil
Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
Annuals, Herbs
From tropical and subtropical Asia. Somewhat bushy plant to 2 ft. tall and 1 ft. wide, with green, shiny, 1–2-in.-long leaves and spikes of white flowers. Forms with purple or variegated leaves have purple flowers.Very popular culinary herb. Used fresh or dry, its leaves lend a pleasant, mildly sweet flavor to sauces and cooked dishes of all sorts. The best leaves are from younger stems that have not yet borne flowers.
There is a dwarf, small-leafed kind that thrives in containers. Sow seeds of any basil in early spring; or set out nursery plants after all danger of frost is past. Space plants about 10 to 12 in. apart or thin to this distance.
Cymbidium
Native to high altitudes in Southeast Asia. Long, narrow, grasslike foliage forms sheath around short,...
Anthriscus cerefolium
Low foliage mounds about a foot wide. Flower stems, 1–2 ft. topped with white blossoms in summer...
Beets
European native known botanically as Beta vulgaris. Raised for their edible roots and tender young lea...
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