Lamiaceae

Holy basil

Ocimum tenuiflorum L.

Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Ocimum

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Holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) — FlowerPhoto: Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (56)

Afrikaans: Heilige basilie
Amharic: በሶብላ
Arabic: حبق رقيق الأزهار, الحبق المقدس, حبق مقدس
arz: حبق رقيق الازهار
Assamese: তুলসী
ban: Tulasih
Bangla: তুলসী
Bhojpuri: तुलसी, तुलसी जी, तुलसी माई
bik: Kamangkaw
Bulgarian: Свещен босилек, Тулси
Cebuano: Balanoy
Chinese: 圣罗勒, 聖羅勒, 神羅勒, 嘎拋, 打抛叶, 打拋, 打拋葉, 蕙草
Croatian: Tulsi
Czech: Bazalka indická
English: Holy basil, Thai holy basil, Tulsi
Estonian: Püha basiilik
Filipino: Balanoy
Finnish: Pyhäbasilika
German: Indisches Basilikum, Heiliges Basilikum, Königsbasilikum, Tulasi, Tulsi
gor: Ulu ulu
Greek: Ώκιμον το λεπτανθές, Βασιλικός της Ταϊλάνδης
Gujarati: તુલસી
Hindi: तुलसी
Indonesian: Kemangi, Daun kemangi, Manglak
Italian: Basilico sacro, Tulasi, Tulsi
Japanese: カミメボウキ, カミボウキ, ガッパオ, ガパオ, トゥルシー, ホーリーバジル
Javanese: Kemangi
Kannada: ತುಳಸಿ
Konkani: तुळस
Korean: 홀리바질
lah: تلسی
Maithili: तुलसी
Malay: Kemangi
Malayalam: തുളസി, കൃഷ്ണതുളസി
Manipuri: ꯇꯨꯜꯁꯤ
Marathi: तुळस, तुळशी
min: Ruku-ruku
Nepali: तुलसी
Odia: ତୁଳସୀ ଗଛ
Persian: ریحان مقدس
Polish: Bazylia azjatycka
Punjabi: ਤੁਲਸੀ
Russian: Туласи, Базилик священный, Базилик тонкоцветный, Священный базилик, Тонкоцветный базилик, Туласи Деви, Туласи-деви, Туласидеви
Sanskrit: तुलसी
sat: ᱛᱩᱨᱥᱤ ᱫᱟᱨᱮ, ᱛᱩᱞᱥᱤ
Sindhi: تلسي
Spanish: Albahaca hindú, Albahaca sagrada, Albahaca tulasi, Balánoy, Planta tulasí, Tulasi, Tulsi
Sundanese: Surawung
Tamil: துளசி, துளவம், துழாஅய்
tcy: ತುಳಸಿ
Telugu: తులసి, కృష్ణ తులసి, తులసి ఆకు, తులసి తీర్ధం, తులసి మొక్క, తులసీ పత్రి, తులసీపత్రం
Thai: กะเพรา
udm: Туласи
Ukrainian: Туласі, Туласа
Urdu: تلسى
Vietnamese: Hương nhu tía, É rừng, É tía, É đỏ

Synonyms

Geniosporum tenuiflorum (L.) Merr.
Lumnitzera tenuiflora (L.) Spreng.
Moschosma tenuiflora (L.) Heynh.
Ocimum flexuosum Blanco
Ocimum hirsutum Benth.
Ocimum inodorum Burm.f.
Ocimum monachorum L.
Ocimum sanctum L.
Ocimum sanctum var. cubensis Gomes
Ocimum sanctum var. hirsutum (Benth.) Hook.f.
Ocimum scutellarioides Willd. ex Benth.
Ocimum subserratum B.Heyne ex Hook.f.
Ocimum tenuiflorum f. villicaulis Domin
Ocimum tomentosum Lam.
Ocimum villosum Roxb.
Plectranthus monachorum (L.) Spreng.

Flowers

In flower: January, April, June to October (from 34 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: introduced

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Martin Purdy, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Amaljit Bharali, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: chiuluan, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: I Gd Nj Prt, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Thomas Gyselinck, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Swarochi Tathagath, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Sandipan Das, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Adityamadhav83, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Navaneeth Sini George, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

More in Ocimum

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.