Basil

Source=Leaves and stems of the basil plant Ocimum basilicum vars
Flavor=Pungent, somewhat sweet
Best used=Fresh
Cooking use=Tomato dishes, with eggplant, for pesto, in Thai and Vietnamese foods, addition to salads and many cooked vegetables

Culpepper says:
'Being applied to the place bitten by venomous beasts, or stung by a wasp or hornet, it speedily draws the poison to it.
In India the Basil plant is sacred to both Krishna and Vishnu, and is cherished in every Hindu house. Probably on account of its virtues, in disinfecting, and vivifying malarious air, it first became inseparable from Hindu houses in India as the protecting spirit of the family.
Every good Hindu goes to his rest with a Basil leaf on his breast. This is his passport to Paradise.