Purdue News
Purdue NewsFebruary 20, 1998
"Sweet Dani" can be used as an ornamental, a culinary herb, dried for use in potpourris, or used fresh in floral arrangements, according to James Simon, the center's research leader and Cooperative Extension Service horticulturist at Purdue. It has a strong lemon scent, light green leaves and small white flowers. A distinctive upright growth habit, larger leaves, rounder shape and longer bloom time distinguish Sweet Dani from other lemon basils.
"It's perfect for the home gardener," Simon said. "It's also suitable for commercial production."
Bred by Simon and his co-researcher Mario Morales, Sweet Dani is named for Simon's teen-age daughter Daniella, who assisted them with their field work on the herb.
According to PanAmerican Seed, the grower/distributor that markets and sells the herb to seed companies through an agreement with Purdue, Sweet Dani produces 70 percent to 75 percent more essential oil than most lemon basils. The oil contains a much higher amount of citral, the compound that gives it its lemon aroma. It also gives it a strong lemon flavor that combines well with the basil flavor, making it useful in a wide assortment of dishes.
"It can be used fresh or dried," Simon said. "It doesn't lose very much lemon flavor upon drying."
Its versatility and uniqueness won Sweet Dani recognition before it ever hit the seed catalogs.
Last fall, All-America Selections named Sweet Dani a 1998 All-America Selections Vegetable Award Winner. The nonprofit, seed industry-supported association annually endorses flower, vegetable and bedding plant varieties that will be reliable, vigorous, productive and show marked improvement over similar varieties already available.
To become an All-America Selections winner, unsold plant varieties are grown at test sites throughout the United States and Canada. Each site has an approved judge -- a professional horticulturist -- who evaluates and rates the plants. Criteria for vegetable entries are days to maturity, yield, uniformity, appearance, taste, texture, how long it keeps in the garden, plant habit, plant durability, disease resistance, ease of harvest and uniqueness. An independent accounting firm calculates the average score of each entry, and the entries with the highest scores are considered for All-America Selections awards. But before winners are introduced, All-America Selections requires producers to have enough seed to meet expected market needs. The producers get three years to comply.
Sweet Dani won exceptionally high marks, Simon said, and is now being identified in spring garden catalogs with the red, white and blue All-America Selections Winner logo.
"It's the first All-America Selection winner from Purdue in horticultural crops," Simon said.
It's also the first release from the Purdue new crops center.
"It's truly a pleasure to see it in all the major seed catalogs," he added. "We hope it's the first of many releases to come."
Source: Jim Simon, (765) 494-1328; e-mail, simon@hort.purdue.edu
Writer: Andrea McCann, (765) 494-8406; e-mail, mccann@aes.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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