23/10/2026
Holy Basil - Ocimum tenuiflorum.
Holy Basil, also known as 'tulsi, is a perennial or subshrub native to tropical and subtropical Asia from Pakistan to China and southwards to Queensland, Australia.
I love this little flower. In Norfolk I have yet to grow it as a subshrub as, coming from the tropics, it is not hardy and it does not like our cold and dark winters. I have been growing it just because I like it: as a member of the dead-nettle family (the Lamiaceae) it's nectar is easily available to insects and the scent of the foliage is so evocative and hard to describe.
Holy Basil is a herb that is sacred to the Hindu religion, and I learnt about this its significance when I had a phone call from a local funeral director who asked if I had any plants. I did have some that year and provided a sprig to be added to the coffin of an Indian client. The family were so pleased. Holy Basil is also used as a medicine and in cooking.
The flowers are small but there are lots of them. Visually it was probably the most insignificant plant in our RHS garden in July, when the plants were quite small, but we wanted to include it as it is highly significant and interesting plant as well as a favourite. Now, in late October, my Holy Basil is still flowering, tucked in the greenhouse so maybe this is the year I can keep it going, and I have also been collecting seed.
