Description

Wild Basil, also known as clove basil, African basil, is a species of Ocimum. It is native to Africa, Madagascar, southern Asia, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and naturalized in Polynesia, Hawaii, Mexico, Panama, West Indies, Brazil and Bolivia.

Characteristics:

Wild Basil is a perennial herb, woody at base. Stems grow to 1-3 m long. Leaves broadly to narrowly ovate, usually 5-13 cm long, 3-9 cm wide, surface somewhat hairy. Leaf margin is toothed, tip narrow, base wedge- shaped. Leaf stalks are 1-6 cm long. Flowers are greenish white to greenish yellow, 4-7 mm long. Sepal cup is 3-5 mm long, enlarging up to 7 mm long in fruit. Upper sepal is ovate, and the median lobes of the lower lip are shorter than lateral ones. Nutlets are nearly spherical, 1.5-2 mm in diameter. The species is distributed world-wide.

Medicinal Uses:

In traditional medicine, the leaves have been used as a general tonic and anti-diarrhea agent and for the treatment of conjunctivitis by instilling directly into the eyes; the leaf oil when mixed with alcohol is applied as a lotion for skin infections, and taken internally for bronchitis.