Typical of the Lamiaceae family
Ocimum americanum
Aranyatulasi / Lemon Basil अरण्यतुलसी
Hindi name · See all regional names ↓
Also known as Hoary Basil
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
Aranyatulasi in regional languages
Find the name you know, then compare it with the botanical profile. Columns list recorded aliases; they are not paired translations. A Latin spelling appears only when it is present in the source record.
| Language | Regional script | Recorded Latin spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | अरण्यतुलसी | Kali tulasi, aranyatulasi |
| Bengali | Not recorded | Kalo-tulashi |
| Tamil | நாய்த்துளசி · கஞ்சங்குல்லை | Nai Thulasi |
| Telugu | వన తులసి | Kukka Thulasi |
| Kannada | ನಾಯಿತುಳಸಿ | Nayi tulasi |
| Malayalam | Not recorded | Kattu-tulasi |
| Marathi | Not recorded | Ran-tulshi |
See the original recorded names
- Hindi
- Kali tulasi,अरण्यतुलसी aranyatulasi
- Bengali
- Kalo-tulashi
- Tamil
- Nai Thulasi, நாய்த்துளசி, கஞ்சங்குல்லை
- Telugu
- Kukka Thulasi, వన తులసి
- Kannada
- ನಾಯಿತುಳಸಿ Nayi tulasi
- Malayalam
- Kattu-tulasi
- Marathi
- Ran-tulshi
Ecology & growing context
- Native status · Kew WCVP
- WCVP native range includes Andaman Is., Assam, India, Nicobar Is., West Himalaya Kew dataset ↗
Kew WCVP dataset; accepted-name match. Dataset matching is separate from an individual regional review. Recorded worldwide native range: Trop. & Subtrop. Old World.
- Recorded habitat
- Open deciduous forests, wastelands and degraded forests
- Explore nearby plants
- Rajasthan →Gujarat →Tamil Nadu →
Occurrence records show where a plant has been recorded; they do not establish that it is native there. Compare local habitat and growing conditions when choosing plants for a garden.
How to identify Aranyatulasi
Identify Aranyatulasi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glaucous (waxy blue-grey bloom).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Lamiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Aranyatulasi.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Ocimum americanum
- Genus
- Ocimum
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Open deciduous forests, wastelands and degraded forests
- Native to
- Paleotropics
- Distribution
- Paleotropics
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glaucous (waxy blue-grey bloom)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Aranyatulasi itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Nutlets
Characters marked “recorded” are for Aranyatulasi itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family — flowering plants only.
About Aranyatulasi
Lemon Basil (Ocimum americanum) belongs to the Lamiaceae family, where it grows as a herb. In India it has been recorded in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and 14 other states. It grows in open deciduous forests, wastelands and degraded forests. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Lamiaceae
Mint/Sage family
Aranyatulasi belongs to the Lamiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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