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Ocimum americanum
Also called Hoary basil, Lime basil, Bontulsi
American basil (Ocimum americanum) is a hairy annual herb in the mint family, grown for its strong citrus-like aroma and used in cooking much like sweet basil. It needs warm, sunny conditions and well-drained soil to thrive.
Ocimum americanum, known as American basil, lime basil, or hoary basil, is a species of an annual herb in the family Lamiaceae. Despite the misleading name, it is native to Africa, the Indian subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. The species is naturalized in Queensland, Christmas Island, and parts of tropical America.
Lemon basil · Ocimum basilicum var. minimum · Basil · Least basil · African basil · Hoary basil · Holy basil · Basil
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ocimum americanum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
