ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The genus Ocimum belongs to the Lamiaceae family and consists of 50 to 150 species of herbs and shrubs. Plants of the genus Ocimum are collectively called basil (Simon et al., 1990). According to Hegnauer (1966) the genus Ocimum comprises 50-60 species. In 1983 Czikow and Laptiew reported that there exist 150 species in the genus Ocimum and one year later Ruminska reported that about 60 species have been classified as belonging to this genus (Suchorska and Osinska 1992).
