When we first grew 'Mrihani' basil three years ago the toothy savoyed leaves reminded me of 'Ruffles' basil. I wondered if I might recreate 'Purple Ruffles' by crossing 'Mrihani' with Opal basil. Sure enough, the F1 cross looked like a giant version of 'Purple Ruffles' with an extraordinary aroma completely unlike Ruffles. In 2017 the F2 generation segregated into purple, green, and variegated types with big toothy savoyed leaves, and the same color range with smaller, flatter, dentate leaves. These seeds are for the F4 generation which will show all of this variation and more. Growers in areas afflicted by downy mildew will likely find resistance in this population when the disease comes to call. Saving seeds of these resistant plants will put a grower on the path to progress.
Thank you to Tiffany Noe for this photograph.

Mrihani Opal Vinegar
For a salad vinegar with a dramatic magenta-cherry color and spiced fruity aroma, soak 1-2 tablespoons of dried leaves of the dark purple plants from this mix with a pint of white basalmic vinegar.
Allow to sit 24 hours, then screen out the leaves.
Beautiful beyond belief in a bottle with olive oil.
Farm Original Variety! OSSI (Open Source Seed Initiative) Pledged Variety.

Oregon Tilth Certified Organic Seed!