• Family : LAMIACEAE
  (Mint Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : TULSI FAMILY (तुलसी फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : LAMIACEAE
• Synonym(s) : Ocimum tenuiflorum L.; Geniosporum tenuiflorum (L.) Merr.
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Ocimum tenuiflorum L.
• Common name : Holy Basil, Sacred Basil, Basil
• Vernacular name : Kalatulsi (Hindi); Tulasi, Sri Tulasi (Kannada); Nallathulasi (Tamil); Tulsi (Sanskrit); Tulas, Kalitulasi (Marathi); Manchi Tulasi, Nalla tulasi (Telugu); Govindapushpam, Krishnathulasi, Thulasi, Thrithavu, Karuthathrithavu (Malayalam)
• Habit : Undershrub
• Habitat : Scrub forests, deciduous forests and wastelands
• Comments / notes : On plains, especially in the gravelly soils. Often cultivated near houses and places of worship.
• Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : All districts of Andhra Pradesh
  • Telangana : All districts of Telangana
  • Goa : All districts of Goa
  • Karnataka : All districts of Karnataka
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
  • Odisha : All districts of Odish
  • Tamil Nadu : All districts of Tamil Nadu
• World Distribution : Paleotropics
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4; J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Ocimum sanctum. Downloaded on 2 April 2025.

Botanical Description

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