𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐞-𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐞-𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬.

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These are F1 hybrids between Genovese-type basils and the ‘lettuce-leaf’ basil cultivar!

The first, the Genovese-type, is the best-known and most popular basil worldwide.
This type comes from Genoa, Italy. And it’s notably used to make pesto.
This is the typical smell of basil for most people.

But basils are like mints; their appearance, and especially their aromatic composition, is extremely variable.

Among them, the ‘lettuce-leaf’ basil has a very interesting morphology:
It has very large, and highly embossed leaves.
But its smell is completely aniseed/fennel.

Last year, plants of both types were grown in close proximity to allow for cross-pollination.
This spring 2025, large-scale sowings were carried out, including several hybrids.
They were isolated for the purpose of self-fertilization.

These F1 hybrids are proving perfect!
They have large, slightly embossed foliage, and the scent of typical Genovese basil is almost unchanged!

About 1/3 of the hybrids had a fragrance even closer to the typical Genovese scent.

Later in the summer their phenotype has become more like the ‘lettuce leaf’ cultivar.
Real balls of leaves!

This F1 generation teaches us some things and is surprising in certain respects:

• The fact that the typical Genovese scent is present and almost unchanged means that it is a polygenic trait involving only a few genes, most of which are dominant and some partially dominant.

• Leaf size, which we would have assumed to be a trait with quantitative inheritance (polygenic with varying levels of dominance) or monogenic and recessive, turns out to be monogenic and dominant.

• The embossed foliage is polygenic and partially dominant.

In any case, this means that the F2 generation will predominantly express these desired traits, and that they will be very easy to stabilize!