Holy Basil

Ocimum tenuiflorum. AKA Tulsi, Ocimum americanum sunsu Bello Ocimum micranthum sensu A. Stahl Ocimum sanctum L. Holy basil or sacred basil is closely related to sweet basil. It is a holy plant for the Hindus of India where it is traditionally known as thulsi, and believed to be the manifest form of the goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu, one of the three supreme Godheads of Hinduism (Shasany, 2016). It is a widely used highly valued household medicinal plant. Holy basil is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and adjoining regions (the Indo–Malayan centre of plant biodiversity). The plant is now naturalized or grown in most tropical regions of tropical Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia, African countries, and the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Ocean islands. Holy Basil has escaped cultivation and become an invasive weed in tropical climates; think carefully about how you will control it if order from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or Guam