Lamiaceae
Ocimum

Ocimum grandiflorum Lam.

First published in Encycl. 1: 387 (1785)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is NE. & E. Tropical Africa. It is a shrub and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Lamiaceae (Labiatae), A.J. Paton, G. Bramley, O. Ryding, R.M. Polhill, Y.B. Harvey, M. Iwarsson, F. Willis, P.B. Phillipson, K. Balkwill, C.W. Lukhoba, D.F. Otieno, & R.M. Harley. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 2009

Type
Type: cultivated in Paris from seed collected by Bruce in Ethiopia (P-LA, holo. microfiche!)
Morphology General Habit
Perennial aromatic shrub to 2.5 m tall
Morphology Stem
Stems erect, rounded-quadrangular, woody, densely pubescent or tomentose with antrorse hairs
Morphology Leaves
Leaves spreading or ascending, sometimes paler beneath, petiolate; blade ovate, broadly ovate or elliptical, 1–6 × 0.6–3 cm, entire or serrate, apex acute, obtuse or rounded, base cuneate, sparsely pubescent to tomentose, glandular-punctate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence condensed or lax with 6-flowered verticils up to 30 mm apart; bracts purplish, narrowly ovate to ovate, 4–5 mm long, erect above forming a small apical coma, soon deciduous, the scar forming a bowl-shaped nectary; pedicels ascending, 3 mm long, flattened, distally curved
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 4–5 mm long at anthesis, pubescent and with sessile glands; posterior lip purplish, obovate, mucronate at apex; lateral lobes of anterior lip truncate, ciliate and ± fimbriate towards subulate-aristate median lobes; fruiting calyx 10–13 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white marked purple or purplish-pink, 14–15 mm long; tube 9 mm long, slightly curved, dorsally gibbous, dilating abruptly at throat; lobes of posterior lip fimbriate; anterior lip horizontal cucullate around filaments
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens exserted from corolla throat 10–25 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlets pale brown, broadly ovoid, 2 mm long, smooth, producing a small amount of mucilage when wet.
[FTEA]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0