Morphological variability in holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum L.) from India

Forty-nine accessions of cultivated holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum L.) representing four phytogeographical regions of India were characterized for 18 qualitative and 14 quantitative traits using minimal descriptors developed by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources with minor modifications. Dendrograms were constructed using Ward’s Minimum Variance method. Analysis showed high degree of variation among studied accessions indicating rich diversity represented within the populations from different phytogeographical regions and relatedness among the morphotypes.