Dr. K. E. OgunsolaFRANCIS, Bisi Eyitayo2026-08-272026-08-272019-04-30https://ir.bellsuniversity.edu.ng/handle/123456789/514xii,51pages,illustration;.hardbackOcimum basilicum, commonly known as sweet basil or sent leaf plant, is an important aromatic plant of the Lamiacee family, most of which are medicinal. Among more than 150 species of Ocimum, sweet basil is the major essential oil crop commercially cultivated in many countries. It is commonly used to flavour foods such as vegetables, poultry and fish among other uses. However, there is limited information about the diversity and ploidy status of the plant which are required for plant improvement. This study was aimed at investigating the morphological diversity of scent leaf plant from six South-south States of Nigeria, identifying a standard for ploidy analysis of scent leaf plant through chromosome counting of a related specie and performing cytological analysis of Ocimum species for chromosome number and ploidy level. Seeds of scent leaf genotypes were collected from six states in the southern part of Nigeria. Twenty three samples were obtained in all. The seeds were raised in the nursery and later transplanted into planting bags containing 5 Kg sandy loam soil. Morphological data were taken on plant height (cm), leaf length (cm), leaf breadth (cm), leaf area, date of flowering, stem diameter (mm) and leaf shape from 12-to 20ª weeks after planting. The growth parameter Data were analyzed by ANOVA using Statistical analyses software (SAS) 2008 version. A related species of scent leaf plants was successfully used to prepare a standard for chromosome counting of the 23 accessions. This standard was eventually used to determine the ploidy levels of the different accessions form the six states and Ploidy analysis was carried out using Flow cytometer. Analysis showed high degree of variation among studied accessions indicating rich diversity represented within the populations from different phyto-geographical regions and relatedness among the species. The leaf margin for all the samples were serrated. Dates of flowering were within the range of 12 to 18 weeks.enAttribution 4.0 InternationalScent leafSeedsDissertation