Cultivated for over 2000 years, it symbolises love. At one time young girls would place some on their windowsill to indicate they were looking for a suitor.

Cultivated for over 2000 years, it symbolises love. At one time young girls would place some on their windowsill to indicate they were looking for a suitor. In Tudor times, small pots of this were given by farmers' wives to visitors as parting gifts. It is also reputed that any man will fall in love with a woman from whom he accepts some basil from as a gift.

In ancient Rome, the name for the herb, Basilescus, referred to Basilisk, the fire breathing dragon. Taking the herb was thought to be a charm against the beast. With this in mind, it is interesting that today b a s i l is used as an antidote to venom. The Greeks also had great respect for B a s i l; their word for it meaning royal or kingly. It was believed that only the king himself should harvest this herb, and only with the use of a golden sickle.