Talk:Tulsi

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[edit] Holy Basil

If this really is the same as Holy Basil, then Tulsi and Holy Basil should be combined into one page. (I think they are the same, judging by various sources on the net.) Singkong2005 07:37, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps we should add a short summary in the Holy Basil page and link to Tulsi, as we may not be able to dominate it with religious info. (The scientific name is the same but Krishna tulsi does have purple stems - something the holy basil page denies?) --Pranathi 20:50, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Botanically they are the same species (at least as of now), but different cultivars. See also Ocimum Shyamal 04:55, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

I updated the botanical name to Ocimum tenuiflorum with the synonym (O. sanctum) in the taxobox.
I removed Thai Holy Basil is a different cultivar of the same species. [citation needed] because there appears to be no such thing as Thai holy basil. There is Thai basil (different species, no relevance to this article), and there is Holy basil (tulsi). Details of taxonomy on the Talk:Holy Basil page. Mark Nesbitt 12:40, 14 January 2006 (UTC)
Tulsi is the Indian word; Thai Holy Hasil might have been poor wording - it's not the common name, but it was meant to identify the one used in Thailand. The question is whether the Holy Basil used in Thailand is a different cultivar of the same species. I would assume so (different populations, after all, bound to be genetically different). --Singkong2005 13:11, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

As Tulsi has such a rich traditional background in India, I don't think it would be a good idea to merge this page into the Holy Basil one, which is pretty sparse in comparison. Better just to mention both in each article--GourangaUK 14:34, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

They're merged now, which is fair enough if the terms refer to the same plant. I suggest moving it to Holy Basil though - I think tulsi is the Indian term isn't it? It's a bit confusing when talking about the Thai context. --Singkong2005 13:16, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
I'm very confused now. I've grown Thai Basil, the popular sweet basil, and the different varieties of Tulsi. The commonly grown 'Thai Basil' is definitely different from Tulsi in flavor and look, and more like a distinctive sweet basil (with slightly more intense flavor). I can't imagine Tulsi being used for cooking because of it's strong pungent flavor, and have never noticed it's distinct flavor at Thai restaurants. Some sources that I've seen on the internet indicate that Thai 'holy basil' is different, others mix them all together with Tulsi, but not very reliably. Photos that I've seen make them seem slightly different. But I haven't seen any authoratative taxonomy that gives latin names for the differences (thai 'holy' vs. tulsi). Having latin names for each from a reliable authority would help determine this. That's why that system was constructed, just to resolve language and cultural differences with plants. I'll do more research, but any taxonomy references would help, especially from scientific sources - not just from cookbooks. ॐ Priyanath 15:26, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

As it stands, this page says Thai Basil has a green stem and Holy Basil has a purple stem, but the Thai Basil page says Thai Basil has a purple stem. We need a citable reference to solve this problem. Pjrich 04:50, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

Tulsi (Holy Basil) definitely has a purple stem, I can't say for sure on the Thai Basil? Regards, GourangaUK 15:46, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
I've grown Tulsi with green stem, and with purple stem. Both were definitely Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum), just different cultivars. ॐ Priyanath 14:49, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
Now you say that I can remember coming across green stemed Tulsi's as well. Should we change the line in the article - if Thai Basil is purple and green also then it doesn't bear any relevance in telling them apart? Rgds, GourangaUK 09:17, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Copyright Violation?

Much of the text from the Tulsi page appears to have come from the following copyrighted page: Tulsi: The Holy Power Plant

Specifically:

1. The first paragraph of both articles are nearly identical

2. The 'Tulsi as a Deity' section is word for word the same

3. The 'Tulsi in Legends' section is derived from the article

Even if it's not a copyright violation, the WP version could/should be rewritten or modified. However, it's possible that about.com copied the article from Wikipedia. Any thoughts? ॐ Priyanath 01:39, 14 April 2006 (UTC)

Hello Priyanath - I agree with you, somewhat of the text on the about.com page is similar to the current article. It could be that about.com copied it from here as I've seen a number of other webistes recently copying from Wikipedia also. I've made a few minor structural changes today, I guess as long as it's less than 90% identical there shouldn't really be a problem? GourangaUK 11:13, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi GourangaUK, I think your changes help to make it appear different from the other article. It's probably still questionably a copyright violation (if it did come from there) but at least it looks less like a cut-and-paste job. I also made some minor changes to the overall organization of the article, since that was even more identical to the about.com version, all the way down to the main headings and their order. I moved up the introduction of Tulsi as an Ayurvedic treatment, because of its popularity and widespread use as such. Also added a few more references to scientific studies of this wonderful, blessed, and holy plant. ॐ Priyanath 00:51, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
P.S. I've confirmed from the edit history that this WP article was copied from about.com, not the other way around.... ॐ Priyanath 03:17, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi Priyanatha, following your recent edits it looks more like it's own article now. I may try and add some extra information at some stage in future if I come along any more research. GourangaUK 09:45, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
Hi GuourangaUK, sounds good - I'll be adding to the Ayurvedic medicine section over time as I find more good research that can be cited on the Lord's sacred plant. ॐ Priyanath 15:14, 15 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] religious significance in Buddhism (Thailand)?

I think it's called Holy Basil in Thailand - this would imply it has religious significance in Buddhism also...?

btw, can a Thai speaker please confirm that Krapow refers to Holy Basil, and not to the regular Thai Basil? Is Holy Basil the literal meaning of Krapow? Thanks. --Singkong2005 13:13, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

Hello Singkong, the Thai_Basil is listed on another page, as it is a slightly different form of basil, with a different tradition behind it. Maybe you could add more information to the other page, as it's very sparse at the moment? Best Wishes, GourangaUK 14:18, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

See my post above, since it also relates to this. ॐ Priyanath 15:37, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] move

This should be moved to Tulasi, which would be more neutral and less Hindi-centric. --Grammatical error 05:37, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps even Thulasi ? Shyamal 06:09, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
Tulsi is the general spelling, or Tulasi - I don't see much of a difference in the spellings personally, although the first is more correct in terms of pronunciation and in Google Tulsi gives 932,000 hits compared to only 358,000 hits on Tulasi, so of the two I would prefer to keep with the more popular variation. Best Wishes, ys GourangaUK 10:00, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
Tulsi is correct in terms of Hindi pronunciation, but Tulasi is the more classical version and it is pronounced like that by most South Indians. Thulasi would be equally incorrect (it would just be catering to Tamils). --Grammatical error 16:04, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
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