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Basil varieties have recently been of interest not only to gardeners or gourmets, but also to landscape designers. In the State Register you can find an extensive list, where the originators are agro-industrial and seed companies, rarely institutes or breeders on their own behalf. And none of them attaches importance to the basis of which species - annual or perennial basil varieties are bred.
This is due to the fact that the culture is extremely thermophilic and dies even with a short-term decrease in temperature. There is no point in covering it or planting it in heated greenhouses - basil reproduces well and produces a rich harvest of spicy herbs over the season.
Varieties of Basil
There is currently no official classification of basil, but if new varieties appear again and again, one will soon appear. Now the crop is divided according to the size and color of the leaves, aroma or other characteristics for convenience.
Types of Basil
Often on the Internet you can find the word “species” used incorrectly, which refers to different variations (features) of the same plant. Meanwhile, this is a rigid category, the main structural unit in the biological taxonomy of living organisms. There are criteria by which scientists separate one species from another. They also determine his belonging to one or another genus.
What citizens far from biology call a species is a variety, maybe a variety, a hybrid, even a plant of a different genus or family. The same thing happened with basil. Here they mixed everything in a heap - varieties, species, varieties, grouping external characteristics by color or size of leaves, smell... They didn’t even ignore the area of use in cooking.
The types of basil from which most garden varieties are derived are:
- fragrant (garden), which is also called vegetable, became the progenitor of almost all varieties used in the kitchen;
- mint-leaved (camphor) is a raw material for medicines;
- thin-colored (tulsi) is used in Ayurveda, for Hindus it is the second most sacred plant (after lotus), used in medicine and cooking;
- eugenolic, The main value of which is the high content of essential oils in the leaves, which is a raw material for the production of spices and is used in medicine.
Basil flavors
When creating new varieties of basil, the first thing to pay attention to is the smell. The area of its use in cooking often depends on the aroma of the plant. For example, varieties that smell of anise or lemon are suitable for fish dishes, while pepper or clove varieties are suitable for fish dishes.When mixed with other spices, complex aromas are created, unique to each national cuisine.
Basil may smell like:
- clove;
- clove-pepper;
- pepper;
- peppermint;
- menthol;
- anise;
- caramel;
- lemon;
- vanilla.
Basil color
The culture has two basic colors: green and purple. Within their framework, the color varies greatly, it can be delicate, rich, and varieties with variegated leaves are often found.
Green basil is believed to have a delicate taste and smell due to its moderate content of essential oils. It is more typical of European cuisine. Green basil is often called sweet basil. It is usually used fresh and frozen. No one forbids drying green leaves, but most essential oils evaporate and the aroma becomes very weak.
Purple varieties are more often found in the cuisines of eastern peoples. They contain 1.5-2 times more essential oils than green ones, which makes the taste harsh and the aroma strong. When the leaves are dried, the smell remains.
Basil varieties
The vast majority of basil varieties used in cooking are based on one type - fragrant (garden, vegetable). Many of them were bred by Russian breeders and entered into the State Register.
Ararat
In 2003, Agrofirm Poisk LLC from the Moscow region submitted an application to include the Ararat vegetable basil variety in the State Register. It was registered in 2004 and recommended for cultivation in all regions of Russia. Since then, the variety has become one of the most popular and frequently grown in the post-Soviet space.
Ararat is considered mid-season and blooms approximately 71 days after germination.This is considered the ripening period, as the plant accumulates enough essential oils that it can be cut for drying.
The Ararat variety forms an erect, semi-spreading bush about 60 cm high. Widely ovate petiolate leaves with edges speckled with sparse teeth are medium in size, greenish-purple in color and have a strong anise smell. The flowers are lilac.
2-2.4 kg of green mass is collected per square meter, one plant weighs 25-35 g. This variety of purple basil is well suited for drying for the winter.
Agricultural technology for growing Ararat basil
The purple basil variety Ararat is grown through seedlings. Seeds are sown at the end of March or beginning of April to a depth of about 0.5-1 cm, planted in the phase of two true leaves. After about a week they feed the first time, after another 10-14 days - the second time. Pinch off the Ararat variety when 6-8 true leaves appear. At the age of 25 days, young plants can be planted in the ground.
Baku courtyard
The Baku Yard variety of vegetable (fragrant) basil is the newest. At the end of 2017, Agrofirm Aelita LLC, registered in the Moscow region, submitted an application. In 2018, the variety was accepted by the State Register and allowed for cultivation in all Russian regions.
Baku courtyard is an early ripening basil; 42-47 days pass from the moment of sprouting to the beginning of flowering. Forms a bush of medium height with small ovoid anthocyanin leaves, the waviness of which is weakly expressed, and dark purple flowers. Has the smell of cloves. Productivity per square meter is 2.2-2.5 kg, weight of one plant is 300-400 g.
Basilisk
LLC "Gavrish Breeding Company" created the vegetable basil Basilisk, which was accepted by the State Register in 2003.Can be grown throughout Russia.
This is an early ripening variety; 46-50 days pass from germination to flowering. Forms a compact, low-growing bush with straight, raised shoots up to 20 cm high. Numerous small leaves are ovate, smooth, green. The flowers are white, the aroma is clove-pepper. Basilisk can be grown as a potted crop, its yield is up to 700 g/sq. m.
Genovese
One of the best varieties of basil is Genovese, which is also called Genoese or Italian. It has an aniseed smell and is an essential ingredient in pesto sauce. Used to make tea and lemonade. Genovese grows up to 45-60 cm and is often planted in pots. The variety is distinguished by delicate green leaves of medium size, elongated oval shape with small teeth. The flowers are white. The weight of one plant is 25-38 g.
Genovese is one of the most common green leaf varieties.
Clove
Clove basil was created by the Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing, author - E. M. Khomyakova. The variety was accepted by the State Register in 1996 and approved for cultivation in all regions.
Clove is a compact, medium-sized bush with dense foliage up to 35 cm high, suitable for growing in pots. The variety has a sharp clove-anise aroma. The stem is green with a purple tint. The leaves are large, wrinkled, with pronounced teeth, and colored green. Gvozdichny is an early variety.
Yerevan
Fragrant basil Yerevan was created by Agrofirm Aelita LLC and is intended for cultivation in all regions. The variety was accepted by the State Register in 2013, a security patent was issued for it, the validity of which expires in 2043.
Yerevan purple reaches flowering in 45 days.Forms a bush up to 40 cm high, with medium-sized ovoid lilac leaves and pink flowers. The aroma is peppery and clove. The weight of green mass per plant is 300-500 g, the yield is 2.1-2.6 kg/sq. m.
Caramel
Caramel basil was included in the State Register in 2000, the originator is the Federal Scientific Center for Vegetable Growing, the author of the variety is E. M. Khomyakova. The tolerance zone is all regions.
This is a mid-season variety that can be grown not only through seedlings, but also by sowing in the ground. Caramel basil forms a spreading bush of medium height. The leaves are dark green, with a gray tint, smooth, and medium in size. The stem is whitish, the inflorescences have a purple tint. Valued for its caramel-fruity aroma and high yield. This basil produces from 2.7 to 3.3 kg of green mass per square meter.
Red or Dark Opal
The Dark Opal variety was bred in the middle of the last century by American breeders. For some reason they call it red in Russia, even though the leaves of this basil are actually purple. Thanks to its attractive appearance, it is widely used not only in cooking, but also in landscape design. It blooms 40-45 days after the appearance of mass shoots.
Basil Dark Opal grows 30-40 cm in height and can be used in pots. It is distinguished by raised shoots and beautiful ovoid purple leaves and flowers. Gained popularity all over the world thanks to its rich pepper-clove aroma.
Lemon miracle
The Lemon Miracle variety created by Agrofirm Aelita LLC was accepted by the State Register in 2014.A security patent has been issued for this basil, which will be valid until 2044. It is recommended for cultivation in all regions.
The variety enters maturity 45-53 days after the appearance of mass shoots. Forms a bush of medium height with raised, medium-sized green leaves on a short petiole. The edge of the elliptical plate is slightly bubbly, the flowers are pink, the aroma is mint-lemon. Each plant weighs 300-320 g, per square meter. m you can collect 2-2.3 kg of green mass.
Basil globulus Perfume
A unique, highly branching variety of basil, Perfum, forms a spherical bush with a diameter of 30-35 cm without pruning. It can decorate a decorative vegetable garden in the French style; it is planted in flower beds and as a border. Grown as a pot crop.
Of interest is not only the appearance of basil, but also its aroma, which tasters rated as spicy and perfumey with mulled wine notes. The leaves are very small and green. The variety is considered one of the best for flavoring olive oil.
Rosie
The Dutch variety of basil Rosie was included in the State Register on the initiative of the originator - the seed company Enza Zaden. Inclusion date: 2010. Basil Rosie is recommended for cultivation throughout the Russian Federation.
This vegetable variety reaches ripeness 38 days after the emergence of full shoots and is considered mid-early.
Basil Rosie is medium-growing and erect.Each rosette contains 4 vesicular leaves of medium size, epileptic shape, purple in color with flowers of a darker shade. Plants of this variety are one-dimensional, weighing 210 g per square meter. meters, 2.2 kg of green mass is collected.
Types of Basil
In addition to the various varieties of Fragrant Basil, which is usually called Garden or Vegetable, two more types have become widespread in cooking - Tulsi and Evengol.
Holy Basil Tulsi
Basil Thin-flowered or Holy Basil is a separate species. In Ayurveda it is one of the main medicinal plants. In Hinduism, the tulsi tree is an object of religious worship; it is considered the earthly incarnation (avatara) of the goddess Lakshmi. In Thailand, fine-flowered basil is called kaphrao and is widely used in cooking.
From a biological point of view, tulsi is a perennial herbaceous shrub 30-60 cm high, which is easily distinguished from other types of basil by its pubescent leaves, petioles and stems. Within the taxon there are two varieties:
- Shyama (Krishna) tulasi, which, in fact, is the object of worship of the Hindus, with stems and leaves of a lilac-purple color and pink flowers:
- Rama-tulasi with white flowers and green vegetative organs.
Leaves on short petioles in the shape of an elongated oval reach 5 cm in length, with sparse teeth along the edge, and are completely covered with soft hairs. The two-lipped flowers are collected in false whorls. The taste of this basil leaves is reminiscent of cloves (a spice).
In regions cooler than India, it is cultivated as an annual crop. Can be kept as a houseplant with a lifespan of up to 5 years.
Basil Eugenolium
Eugenolic Basil is also an independent species, even more heat-loving than Vegetable. It is a herbaceous subshrub with a pyramidal-shaped crown, branched, 0.7-1.5 m high. The stems and leaves are covered with hairs, of which a small part are glandular. Essential oils with a pronounced clove aroma flow through them.
The central stem, woody at the base, and branches of Basil eugenola have a tetrahedral cross-section. Large, green, 10-15 cm long, oblong-ovate serrated leaves are located opposite on petioles 4-5 cm.
The branched fibrous root reaches a length of 80 cm. The bell-shaped, off-white flowers collected in whorls appear in August, and by September the seeds are already ripening.
Basil eugenola is used in cooking for its bitter taste and strong aroma of pepper and cloves. But the plant has found greater use in medicine and cosmetology, as it contains many essential oils.
Basil varieties for the Middle Zone
In fact, all the varieties of vegetable basil described above are grown in the middle zone. You don’t even have to choose varieties that take less time from germination to flowering. Basil does not bear fruit, or rather, its fruits are of no interest to gardeners, unless someone decides to stock up on their own seeds.
Young leaves and shoots are used for fresh consumption, freezing and canning; well-ripened green mass is cut off at the very beginning of flowering for drying. So in the middle zone you can harvest even late varieties if you grow them through seedlings.
In addition to those listed above, in the middle zone and Moscow region you can grow varieties of vegetable basil:
- Tone;
- Aniskin;
- Velvet;
- The Dragon;
- Violet;
- Green fragrant;
- Russian giant purple;
- Pepper aroma;
- and others.
Tulsi basil, like evengol basil, is less adapted to temperate climate conditions than vegetable basil. But it’s quite possible to grow them there.
Conclusion
The varieties of basil are varied, numerous, and very different from each other in smell or appearance. They can decorate not only the table, but also the front garden and flower bed. If you grow basil through seedlings, the harvest can be harvested even in the northern regions.
