Ocimum tenuiflorum Seeds | Holy Basil
LATIN NAME: Ocimum tenuiflorum
COMMON NAME: Holy Basil
Plant Profile
Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is a fine, easy herb. Holy basil is fragrant, sacred herb of warm gardens of east, and it has been grown around temples and homes of region for thousands of years. Upright, branching plant carries small, oval, softly hairy leaves with a warm, spicy, clove-like scent, and slender spikes of small, white or pale-purple flowers rise above them through warm season. The whole plant is aromatic and generous, and it keeps producing through the heat of the summer. Few species give back so generously for so little effort.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the Ocimum group regularly include Ocimum tenuiflorum in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. Holy basil has a long and careful place in plant science, and aromatic compounds that give leaves their warm scent have been studied for a very long time. Species like this one find a second career as research material, especially in propagation and breeding work.
Uses & Benefits
Beyond its ornamental appeal, Holy Basil has the practical versatility that makes a plant worth growing from seed year after year. Holy basil is one of the most widely used of the aromatic herbs of the east, and the fresh leaves are used in the warm-country kitchens, the teas and the traditional preparations. Plant is grown around world as a fragrant culinary herb and a fine, easy garden plant, and flowers pull in bees and butterflies through warm season. A pot of it on patio is a fine, useful companion. In later seasons it demands little more than an appreciative eye.
Basil is the royal herb: sweet basil perfumes the world’s kitchens, while holy basil, tulsi, is Ayurveda’s most revered adaptogen tea, studied for stress and metabolic support. Basil’s eugenol and linalool give the genus genuine antimicrobial chemistry.
Growing from Seed
Raising Holy Basil from seed is straightforward. Sow thinly on the surface of a loose, well-drained seed compost, cover lightly, water in gently and keep the tray in a sunny spot with even moisture. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
Given the right start, Holy Basil is a long-term garden companion. Holy Basil settles in quickly once it finds its footing. Once the young plants are away, there is little left to do but watch them grow.
Related Reading
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