Mystery Plant Project

Identification of Large Leaf Italian Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

By Kasey Jacobson and Leo Peters
_____________________________Introduction_______________________________

In this project, the goal was to successfully grow an unidentified seed

into a plant. With no information or knowledge on the seed type, as the
semester progressed, we were able to apply our acquired knowledge over the
school year in plant biology by identifying plant characteristics to aid
us in identification of the plant. In terms of plant characteristics, our
plant in this project was identified using the reproductive structures of
the flower, such as the four whorls: corolla, calyx, stamen and pistil. We
also identified the plant through the morphological structure, concerning
the type of the root system the plant had, the shape and orientation of
the stem, and the arrangement and shape of the leaves leaves. A very
important factor which contributed to our identification of our mystery
plant being Ocimum basilicum was the use of the plants secondary
compounds, more specifically the scent the leaves had through the phenols
they produced. Altogether with our increased knowledge of plants over the
year in plant biology, the reproductive, morphological and chemical traits
of the plant helps us identify the plant as O. basilicum, with the
cultivar name of Large Leaf Italian Basil. After our plant was identified,
we then researched the economic uses of our plant, as well as its origin
and what some of its relatives look like (mint for example).
Growth Form and Lifespan of ​O.Basilicum
After 7 days of being planted,
germination was noticed in 8 of the 10
pots with seeds planted in them.
Observationally, this cultivar of basil
underwent epigeal germination, as the
cotyledon leaves are clearly visible. The
seeds planted were black and were 1mm in
width and 2mm in length, it was hard to
spot whether or not some seeds were
potentially sitting above the soil or
buried below the soil (Figure 1.)

The plants grown throughout the

semester seemed to halt in growth by
December 1st. Although a full life
cycle was not achieved through the
growth flowers (Figure 2.), basil is
widely known as an annual herbaceous
plant (Culinary Herbs). It is also
known that certain culinary cultivars
of basil will be selected to have
their flowers bloom very late if at
all, as flower growth essentially
affects the taste of the basil leaves.
Morphology of ​O.Basilicum
Stems:
The Stem of the plant was green,
herbaceous (non woody) and was
cuboidal in shape (Figure 3). Here in
figure 3, we can see axillary buds
located on the stems at each node,
this is where newly sprouting leaves
will come from on the plant. In terms
of support the provided, the stem was
rather thin and weak at times during
growth. The vast amount of large
leaves growing on each plant commonly
resulted in the plants to be top heavy
and tilting occurred as a result in
the growing, non-mature plants. Once
plants were seen to reach mature
growth, the stem became thicker as a result and was able to support the
plant in staying upright (Figure 2). Stem widths varied from 0.4-0.8
centimeters in diameter depending on the maturity of the plant observed.
Stems of these plants also had the potential to grow to impressive
heights. The tallest basil plant recorded in this project reached a height
of 46 cm.

Root system:
This plant had a taproot system. Meaning
that the root system consisted of one
thick, main root which focused on growing
deep into the soil, having several fibrous
lateral roots branch from it (Figure 4).
The taproot length in these plants averaged
to around 7-8 cm length. It is important to
note that taproot length was limited due to
the pots that the plants were growing in.
Particularly, herbaceous annual plants do
not grow very deep root systems anyways due
to their short yearly life cycle. Root
hairs are present in the in the zone of cell maturation of the lateral
roots, but due to the dissecting scope not providing a great enough
magnification, root hairs can not be seen in figure 4. Taproot systems
overall provide the plant with a means of anchorage (keeping plant
anchored in soil) and conduction (absorption of water and nutrients).

Apart from utilizing a taproot system,

the basil also had presence of
adventitious roots. These adventitious
roots grew from the internodes of the
stem down into the soil in order to
provide further support to the very
thin stems of the plant. These
adventitious roots are classified as
prop roots (Figure 5)and are commonly
found in plants such as corn which
have very long stems which require
further upright support through the
use of prop roots.

Leaves:
The leaves of these plants were very
large in comparison to the stem. The
leaves were very large due to the
cultivar focusing on growing larger
leaves for greater yields of basil for
culinary purposes. The basil leaves
were simple with softly serrated edges.
Basil leaves were pinnately branched
with netted leaves, indicating it is
dicotyledon. Mature leaves reached a
length of 7-8cm and width of 4-5cm,
these were very large leaves in
comparison to the relative size of the
basil plant itself (Figure 6.) Leaves
grew from the stem in an opposite fashion (two leaves would grow on
opposite side of stem at the same location on the internode). Leaves did
not directly sprout from stem, as they were connected through a petiole.

Flowers:
This plant had a complete
and perfect flower, meaning
all four whorls (sepals,
petals, stamens and
pistils) were present on
each single flower (Figure
7). The flowers’ irregular
shaping led to the fact
that the flower has
bilateral symmetry. The
relatively small size of
the flower and specific
shape of the flower
suggests that it is
pollinated by bees

The mint flower had characteristics that led

us to label the sepals and petals as one,
tepals (Figure 8). Tepals can be classified
as two whorls, the calyx and the corolla. In
a typical basil flower, there are individual
sepals and petals (Figure 9). The presence
of both the male and female parts meant the
flowers were also bisexual. The flower was
irregularly shaped, with 3 petals fused to
each other and the base to form a tubular
shape as seen in Figure 7. The outer tepals
had a violet hue, therefore presence of an
anthocyanin pigment was present. It is also
important to acknowledge that this flower
actually came from a mint plant. We were
unable to get our basil to grow its flowers.
 Mint is in
the same
family as
basil which
is why it
was used for
flower
inferences.
We looked at
a flower
within the same family as basil because
our

specific cultivar was selected against

flowering because when basil flowers it
will in most cases, change the flavor of
the leaves, which is not a desirable
trait for culinary uses. All of the
morphology of the mint flower is the
same except the coloration. In basil
plants, the flower would typically be
white in color( Morell, 2017). In terms
of reproductive whorls of the flower,
the flower possessed one style
containing two stigmas (Figure 10), if
the ovary of the flower were to be cut
open it would show two carpels (two seed
compartments) as the stigma number is
representative of the number of carpels.
The flower contained two stamen (each
comprised of one filament and one anthers in figure 11) surrounding the
stigma structure.
Trichomes:
On the tepals of this specimen,
trichomes were present as seen
in Figure 8. Observationally
when using the dissecting scope,
it looked as if the trichomes
were creating glandular
secretions, most likely
secondary compounds to deter
predation and to increase
pollination features (Figure
12). Trichomes, apart from being
used for secretion, can also
function to protect the plant
from excessive UV damage and
desiccation. This is especially
important in plants that live in
very sunny, dry areas.

Anatomy of O. Basilicum

Roots:
The root cross section of the Basil
plant taproot was stained with
toluidine blue. In this cross section
you can see how the dermal tissue,
ground tissue and vascular tissue are
organized​. ​The outermost dermal
tissue consists of the epidermis, a
single layer which root hairs grow
from. Root hairs are structures that
grow in the roots’ zone of maturation
what are essential in increasing the
roots surface area for absorption.
Beneath the epidermis is the cortex,
which is the ground tissue of the root. It consists of parenchymal cells
which mainly function in storage of starchy molecules which can be seen as
darker blue molecules in figure 13. The most central aspect of the root
being the vascular tissue is surrounded by the endoderm. The endoderm
consists of pericycle and suberin (casparian strip). Pericycle is a cell
which regulates the formation of lateral roots and the casparian strip
which consists of suberin is used for selective absorption of nutrients as
well as protection of the vascular tissue in the root. The vascular tissue
in the center of the root consists of xylem and phloem. Xylem is composed
of dead tissue such as tracheids and vessel elements used for water
conduction. Phloem is composed of living tissue such as sieve tube members
and sieve plates, along with companion cells which help store collected
nutrients that are conducted through the sieve tube members.

Stems:
The cross section of the stem of the basil
plant was viewed under 400x magnification.
This magnification was enough to view one
vascular bundle of the stem which consists
of bundles of fibers on the outside of the
vascular bundle, a layer of phloem and
then a layer of xylem. Using toluidine
blue to dye the stem cross section, the
dead cells: xylem tissue and fibers, were
dyed a darker blue color in comparison to
the phloem and the companion cells, which
consisted of a more violet color,
indicating that phloem is composed of
living cells to make the tissue. Just
outside of the bundle of fibers,
parenchymal cells can be seen which are
part of the cortex of the stem. This
magnification was too zoomed into to be
able to see the pith of the stem, which
is, in terms of herbaceous dicot plants,
rather large and somewhat square in shape due to the cuboidal shape of the
basil root along with its herbaceous dicot relatives.
Leaves:
Anatomically, the leaves of the basil plant
contain a unique enzyme called eugenol
synthase. This enzyme has the ability to
use the polymer lignin to create a highly
volatile substance called eugenol. Eugenol
is a highly aromatic compound and is the
reason to as why basil leaves have a slight
‘shine’ to their leaves, due to the
secretion of this secondary compound. In
figure 14, we can see that the basil leaf
under the dissecting scope has a unique
shine to it which is created from
microscopic glandular secretions on the
leaf. This is shown from looking at the
part of the leaf that faces up.

Looking at the underside of the

leaf, like any other plant,
basil has the presence of
subsidiary cells as well as
stomata. Stomata are essential
to plants in that that they are
the main structures used for gas
exchange in the plant. Stomata
will take in carbon dioxide to
allow the plant to undergo
photosynthesis using
photorespiration (C3 cycle).
Stomata are composed of a
stomatal pore; an opening in the
leaf for gas exchange, guard
cells; two vacuole-like structures which contain chloroplasts and will
open or close depending on the time of day or amount of water the plant
has within its system, and subsidiary cells; a unique epidermal cell on
the surface of the leaf that surround the stomata and lack chloroplasts.

Reproduction

Pollination:
The method of pollination for this flower is
centered on the shape and color. Figure 7
shows that the mint flowers are purple or
violet, as previously mentioned basil flowers
would be white in color (Figure 17). These
pigments attract the same pollinators, bees.
Bees prefer flowers in the violet-blue range
as well as white flowers. Basil also attracts
pollinators by giving off a strong, musky
odor(​Pichersky & Gershenzon, 2002​). Bees are a
species of pollinator that are able to smell
so this may be why the flower in basil would
not need to exhibit a more attractive variant
of color compared to other similar species
such as the mint flower. The flower does not
need to expend energy to develop pigments when
it already has such a prominent smell. The
shape of the flower is highly irregular and specified to its pollinator.
The tubular shape forces the pollinator inside of the flower to collect
the reward, where they have a high chance of brushing the anther and
having the pollen collect on their backs. The large lipped tepal of the
basil flower allows the bee to land successfully when collecting pollen
and nectar. Interestingly enough, the pistil of the flower is located
right where this large lipped tepal is, forcing bee pollinators to make
contact with the stigma when landing. Basil exhibits​ ​the ability to both
self-pollinate and cross-pollinate. It is a monoecious plant that displays
no evolutionary trait which prevents self-pollination, therefore, it can
be a highly localized plant due to how much easier it is to self pollinate
in comparison to cross pollination.
Germination:
O. basilicum ​exhibits epigeous
germination. Epigeous germination is
most commonly associated with dicot
plants. This process of germination has
the dicotyledons of the seed sprout
above the soil along with the newly
sprouting hypocotyl. In figure 18, we
can see the dicotyledon shaped leaves
which are oppositely growing. The fact
that there are two dicot leaves further
prove that basil is a dicot, as being a
dicot directly correlates with how many
cotyledons plant seeds contain. Dicots
having two and monocots only having one.
Cotyledons are essential in providing

newly sprouted plants with

initial nutrition before the
plant can start to become more
self-sufficient by using its
newly sprouted leaves and radicle
to undergo photosynthesis and
create its own starchy energy
providing products. It is worth
noting that throughout the growth
of the plant, the cotyledon
leaves continued to stay on the
stem of the plant even when the
simple oppositely growing basil
leaves started to mature as can
be seen in figure 19. These
leaves did change in orientation on the stem, transitioning from being the
most terminal leaves to becoming the lowest growing leaves on the plant
stem.
Plant Physiology:
In terms of acquiring
energy, most plants, apart
from some unique
heterotrophic exceptions in
the angiosperm phylum, use
photosynthesis as a means
to create energy. Plants
​ se
such a ​O.basilicum u
photosynthesis and are
autotrophic as a result.
There are three variants of
photosynthetic plants; C3,
C4 and CAM plants. Basil is
classified as a C3 plant.
C4 and CAM plants are found
in more dry and arid areas.
These plants utilize the
creation of four carbon
compounds which are helpful
in adaptation towards drier
climates that do not readily have water available. C3 plants such as basil
primarily use the calvin cycle for carbon fixation. CO2 is fixed by RuBP
to create two 3-PGA molecules. Once the 3-PGA molecules are produced,
NADPH is then used to reduce (donate electrons) these 3 carbon compounds
into G3P (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate), where finally, some G3P molecules
are used to create glucose, and the others recycled back into the calvin
cycle. Typically in C3 plants, If these plants were to grow in hotter
climates, they would start to undergo photorespiration if CO2:O2 ratios
were to drop, this results in RuBP fixing to O2 rather than CO2, resulting
in plants having to undergo the calvin cycle twice as much to create the
amount of glucose that would normally be produced with RuBP fixing to CO2.
Eugenol Synthase:
In terms of secondary compounds being
produced by basil, Eugenol is by far the
most iconic. Eugenol is a highly aromatic
and volatile compound that is produced by
the enzyme Eugenol Synthase. Being a
highly volatile compound, eugenol has the
ability to easily evaporate and travel wide distances. Apart from the
highly aromatic properties of eugenol that are used in pollinator
attraction, eugenol also possesses highly antioxidant and antimicrobial
properties. This means that basil has the ability to fend off potentially
harmful microbes, which is why basil is also known to be a useful
companion plant for other crops such as tomatoes. (​Lee, Umano, Shibamoto
et. al. 2005). In terms of how Eugenol
is produced, Eugenol synthase uses the
polymer lignin to create the chemical.
Since lignin is a polymer, it is made up
of monomers such as coniferyl acetate.
Using the monomer coniferyl acetate from the polymer lignin, eugenol
synthase will catalyze this monomer through reductive displacement to form
eugenol (​Louie, Baiga, Taylor et. al. 2007).

Taxonomy:
O. basilicum ​is an angiosperm because it produces a flower. This specimen
belongs in the Kingdom Plantae and in the Division Tracheophyta,
indicating that the species is a vascular plant. It belongs in the Class
Magnoliopsida, telling us the plant is also a dicot. Continuing to
classify this plant led to the Order Lamiales, followed by Family
Lamiaceae. The Genus is Ocimum and the Species is ​Ocimum basilicum​. There
are many different forms of basil on the market, and the cultivar grown in
this experiment is Large Leaf Italian.

Plant Ecology:
Large Leaf Italian prefers warmer weathers. Basil particularly prefers
soil temperatures of 70F, any lower and the seeds will have problems
germinating. Basil needs to be in a location where they can get 6 to 8
full hours of sun daily. Basil prefers to grow in moist soil that is
well-drained. When planting the seeds, plant each seed around ¼ of an inch
deep and 10-12 inches apart from each other. This will allow the basil to
grow taller to its expected height of 12-24 inches. Make sure to pinch out
flower buds if they start to grow in order to allow basil leaves to grow
and retain their sought after culinary taste. If planning to grow basil
for culinary use, make sure to grow in clean soil and away from driveways
to avoid exhaust from settling on the plants.

Ethnobotany of Large Leaf Italian Basil:

Also known commonly as sweet basil, this cultivar of basil is native to
Europe where it has been used commonly for centuries as a fresh and dried
culinary herb. As a result, it has been a common ingredient in American
kitchens since the 1700’s! As it was included in the trades between the
american colonies and british empire.(​Victory seeds​)Apart from being grown in
Europe, basil itself has been said to originate from India and was
introduced to Europe through the spice routes that Europe and India shared

Uses of ​O.basilicum, ​specifically the Large Leaf Italian basil:

Basil is mainly grown in gardens to allow for easy access of the fresh
herb. Large Leaf Italian basil is used commonly in many cuisines,
including Italian and South East Asian (Culinary Herbs, n.d.). They can
also be used as companion plant. Companion plants are different plants
grown next to each other that enhance growth or protect one another from
pests. Basil can be planted next to crops such as asparagus, bell peppers
and tomatoes (Basil Companions, 2013). Some claim that by planting basil
and tomatoes near one another makes both crops taste better, but the
eugenol in basil is also an insect repellant. The chemical eugenol serves
a dual function as an insect deterrent and a pollinator attractant.

Literature Cited:

Basil Companions. (2013, March 1). Retrieved December 8, 2017, from

http://www.ourherbgarden.com/basil-companions.html

Culinary Herbs in the Garden. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2017,

from ​https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2008/aug/060101.htm

Graham, L., Graham, J., & Wilcox, L. (2006). Plant Biology (2nd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Lee, S. J., Umano, K., Shibamoto, T., & Lee, K. G. (2005).
Identification of volatile components in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)
and thyme leaves (Thymus vulgaris L.) and their antioxidant
properties. ​Food Chemistry​, ​91(
​ 1), 131-137.

Louie GV, Baiga TJ, Bowman ME, Koeduka T, Taylor JH, Spassova SM, et
al. (2007) Structure and Reaction Mechanism of Basil Eugenol
Synthase. PLoS ONE 2(10): e993.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000993

Morell, V. (2017, October 18). Flower petals have “blue halos” to

attract bees. Retrieved December 7, 2017, from
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/10/flower-petals-have-blue-halos-
attract-bees

Pichersky, E., & Gershenzon, J. (2002). The formation and function of

plant volatiles: perfumes for pollinator attraction and defense.
Current Opinion in Plant Biology​, ​5(
​ 3), 237–243.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-5266(02)00251-0

Ocimum basilicum​. Retrieved [2017, December, 5], from the Integrated

Taxonomic Information System on-line database,​ ​http://www.itis.gov​.

Seeds, H. (n.d.). Large Leaf Italian Sweet Basil - Ocimum basilicum -

Herb Seeds from Victory Seeds®. Retrieved December 04, 2017, from
http://www.victoryseeds.com/ocimum_basilicum.html

________________MPP Lab Journal________________

8/31 → Seeds are very minute in size, black and oval-like shape
Leo & Kasey → Due to size of seeds, multiple seeds were planted in each pot
→ Seeds are planted at a depth of around ⅓ cm within a furrow in the center of the pot

9/04 → Soil was tested for relative dampness

Leo → Soil was lightly sprayed with water to ensure
surface
→ No growth was noticed in terms of a sprout
spotted in any of the 10 pots
9/08 → 8 of the 10 plant pots showed noticeable sprouting of seeds planted
Leo & Kasey → newly sprouted plants consisted of oppositely growing leaves in the shape of a crescent/half c

9/12
Kasey → all 10 plant pots have successfully sprouted seeds

→ all baby plants shared the same two crescent leaf

structure

→ excess water from bottom watering was removed

before further observations and re-bottom watering on
friday

9/15 → 5 of the 10 plant pots had noticeable growth in the newly sprouted plants (Pots 1,5,6,7,8)
Leo & Kasey → In terms of noticeable growth, the plants in these pots sprouted two extra leaves for a total
of 4 leaves per plant.
→ newly sprouted leaves were more narrow and were not shaped like crescent/half circle
leaves that originally sprouted from the seed
→ plant pot trays were bottom watered for the weekend

9/18 → Plant trays were checked to see how much water was taken in by the plants when watered
Leo before the weekend
→ Water in bottom trays was mostly all gone, soil was very moist
→ all 10 plant pots had 4 leaves growing for each plant
→ the secondary set leaves continue to differentiate from the initially grown leaves

→ all plants previously sprouted continue to grow in

9/22 → 3 of the 10 plant pots had new baby plants sprout
Leo & Kasey 3,8,9)
→ The secondarily grown leaves continue to show
different morphological characteristics from the
originally sprouted leaves.
→ plant trays are bottom watered before the weekend
9/25 → initially sprouted leaves have a less green color compared to the secondarily sprouted leaves
Kasey (becoming more pale = losing their functionality/ will fall off eventually?)
→ water in bottom tray was completely absorbed by the plants
→ soil was drier than preferred, therefore soil was sprayed with water

9/29 → secondarily grown leaves have now exceeded the

Leo & Kasey initially sprouted leaves in size. Ranged from sizes 2-4
depending on pot the leaves were measured in
→ secondarily grown leaves have a pinnate venous
system and a slight serration on their edges.
→ The larger/more developed plants had another set
opposite growing leaves similar to the secondarily
growing leaves sprout
→ Plant trays were bottom watered before the
weekend

10/06 → Plants underwent extreme growth over

Leo & Kasey the week
→ Plant leaves have started to develop a
basil-like scent

→ Clear separation between the initially

sprouted leaves and the secondarily growing
leaves which can now be identified as the
plants main leaves

→ Plant trays were bottom watered before the

weekend

10/09 → Water in bottom trays was not fully absorbed over the weekend, water was removed from botto
Leo & Kasey tray as it was not needed by the plant at the time.

→ soil was relatively moist, no spraying was needed.

→ Plants continue to grow taller through newly sprouted leaves and stem of the plant continues t
 grow thicker in order to support upright growth

10/13 → The largest leaves (not initially sprouted)

Leo & Kasey grown to become around 7-8 cm in length

→ new leaves continue to sprout at the top

plant each week it seems

→ late sprouting plants seem to be growing

slowly due to lack of sunlight from growing
under larger mystery plants

→ Plant trays were bottom watered before

weekend

10/16 → Leaves are starting to grow slightly wider and cup downwards in shape in 6 of the 10 plant
Leo pots. Leaf widths increased from 2-4cm to 3-5cm

→ new baby plants continue to sprout up at random times, none of which have very great
success in growing if directly beneath other taller plants within the same pot

→ Plant pot trays were moved closer to a greenhouse window in order to increase potential
sunlight intake.

→ water was absorbed by the plants and soil was moist, no spraying needed

10/20 → the more mature leaves of the plant continue to

Leo & Kasey assume a more wide + droopy shape compared to
the younger/ newly sprouted leaves
→ leaf length = 7-8cm
→ leaf width = 4-5cm
→ stem has become thicker and cuboid in shape
→ Plants smell very basil-like! I think we know what
plant is now!
→ Plant trays were bottom watered before the
weekend
10/23 → Water in bottom trays was taken up by all the
Kasey plants.

→ all ten plant pots have healthy growing

plants! No plant death apart from late sprouting
plants which are overshadowed by the larger
growing plants.

→ each pot averaging 2-4 healthy growing

plants.

10/27 → Plant leaf foliage has become darker green.

Leo & Kasey
→ matured leaves have a more ruffled/venous texture to them (a slight shine too!)

→ all plants continue to grow taller

→ Plant trays were bottom watered before the weekend

11/01 → plant pots 3,8 have plants with such
Leo heavy leaves that support is needed to
prevent the stem from bending!

→ mature leaves continue to retain a size

around 4-5cm in width and 7-8cm in
length.

→ plant stems are about 0.8cm in width at

a very thin stem for such large leaves to
on, resulting in such plants in pots 3,8 to
become rather ‘top heavy’

11/03 → as plants grow taller, groupings of 2-4 leaves are spaced out from other leaf groupings
Leo & Kasey at an average of 4-5 cm, helping reduce top heaviness of the plant by spacing out leaves
growing along the stem
→ Plant trays were bottom watered before the weekend

11/06 → plants growing in pots 3,8 no longer

Kasey need support to stay upright, as the
stem has gotten slightly thicker and the
leaves have been spaced out in 2-4
groupings along the stem.
→ one of the plants in pot 4 was dying,
plant was extracted from the pot and
picture was taken of the stem to show
thin nature of these plant stems.
→ water was completely absorbed
from the bottom watering on friday, soil
sprayed with water for good measure
11/10 → It was noticed that once plants
Leo & Kasey reached a certain height threshold,
leaves did no longer have to sprout
the top of the plant.

→ as observed in this plant in pot 4,

leaves have started to sprout at each
‘node’ along the stem, rather than just
sprouting from the top. This is due to
presence of axillary buds on the stem
located near the petioles of other
mature leaves

→ Plant trays were bottom watered

before the weekend

11/13 → Adventitious roots were observed to

Leo present in some of the taller growing
plants such as the tallest plant in pot 4

→ These roots grow above ground from

stem into the soil

→ potentially prop roots? Used to

support the naturally thin-stemmed basil

→ soil was overall drier than anticipated,

soil was sprayed with water to retain
previous moisture
11/17 → single plants in pots 3,4 and 7 were exceptionally taller than the rest of the growing
Leo & Kasey plants in all other pots

→ large variation in plant sizes - possibly due to resource competition for sunlight and water?
Once plants in pots 3,4 and 7 grew taller, they had less competition for light with the other
plants that are of similar height.

→ All plants have an opposite leaf growth structure to maximize sunlight absorption by each
leaf at each node along the stem.

→ Plant trays were bottom watered before the weekend

11/20 → Some plants in pots 1,2, 4 ,6 and 7 have some noticeable foliage damage from black flies
Kasey in the greenhouse!

→ damage to foliage came in the form of holes in leaves of the plants

→ although some leaves were damaged, this did not seem to affect the plant's overall health

11/24 → no noticeable increase in plant size

Leo & Kasey among the taller plants in pots 3,4
and 7.
→ Other smaller, potentially growing
plants have seemed to slow in their
growth rate.

→ Plant trays were

bottom watered before the weekend
11/28 → Plants have still not had any noticeable signs of flowers to bloom.
Leo
→ tallest plant in pot 4 was at a height of 46 cm

→ It was discussed earlier during the reproductive structures lab that our cultivar of basil
blooms late/if at all, due to the presence of flowers changing the taste and structural integrity
of the basil plant, making it less desirable for use in cooking/consumption

12/01 --> Plants seem to be a cultivated variant of basil which does not have flowers bloom!
Leo & Kasey (Large Leaf Italian Basil)

→ Last friday where plant trays are bottom watered before the weekend!