Edible: Leaves for tea, Herb, Seeds, Spice, Flowers
A small herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows to 70-100 cm high. It has a sprawling suckering habit. There are many branches and they are soft and pithy. It is branched. The base is woody. The leaf stalk is 1-2.5 cm long. The leaf blade is oblong and 2.5-5.5 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. It is hairy. The edges can be wavy or have teeth. The flowers are very small and white. They occur among calyxes along an erect stalk at the ends of the plant. The nutlets are brown and oval. They are about 1 mm long by 0.7 mm wide.
It is a warm temperate plant. It needs a sunny sheltered position. Soil should be kept moist. In Asia it grows up to 600 m altitude. In China it grows in dry sandy areas. It can grow in arid places. In Hobart Botanical gardens. It suits hardiness zones 9-10.
Common Names: Ajaka, Aring, Baranda, Basilic des moines, Basilic sacre, Bidai, Brinda, Bryanda, Fusthula, Gaggera, Hsiang tsai, Kadiring, Kala-pi-sein, Kala tulsi, Kalitulshin, Kamangi, Kaphrao, Katriin, Kom ko dong, Krishna tulasi, Lamar, Loko-loko, Maeng-luk, Manjari, M'reas prov, Mreah preu, Mreahs prow, Nalla tulasi, Parnasa, Patrapuspha, Phak ka phao, Pin-sein-net, Ruku fuik, Ruku-ruku, Sacred balm, Saph'au, Sheng luo le, Sulasi, Suvasa tulasi, Tarp hao, Te marou, Thai basil, Trittavu, Tulasa, Tulasi chajadha, Tulsi, Tunrusi, Warung
Synonyms:
Lumnitzera tenuiflora (L.) Spreng.;
Ocimum anisodorum F. Muell.;
Ocimum brachiatum Hassk.;
Ocimum caryophyllinum F. Muell.;
Ocimum flexuosum Blanco;
Ocimum hirsutum Benth.;
Ocimum inodorum Burm. f.;
Ocimum monachorum L.;
Ocimum sanctum L;
Ocimum sanctum L. var. angustifolium Benth.;
Ocimum sanctum L. var. cubensis Gomes;
Ocimum scutellarioides Willd. ex Benth.;
Ocimum subserratum B. Heyne ex Hook. f.;
Ocimum tenuiflorum L. f. villicaulis Domin;
Ocimum tenuiflorum L. var. anisodorum (F. Muell.) Domin.;
Ocimum tomentosum Lam.;
Ocimum villosum Roxb.;
Moschosma tenuiflorum (L.) Heyne.;
Geniosporum tenuiflorum (L.) Merr.;
Plectranthus monachorum (L.) Spreng.;