Ram Tulsi / Wild Basil
Ocimum gratissimum
Also known as Shrubby Basil, Lemon Basil, Tea Bush
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Found in India
- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Ocimum gratissimum
- Genus
- Ocimum
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Habit
- Undershrub
- Habitat
- Wastelands and in dry deciduous forests
- Distribution
- Pantropical
- Found in India
- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Recorded for Ram Tulsi.
Flower & fruit characters
Typical of the Lamiaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- राम तुलसी Ram tulsi, बन तुलसी Ban tulsi, Arjaka, ram tulsi
- Bengali
- ৰাম তুলসী Ram tulsi
- Tamil
- elumichantulasi, peruntulasi, elumiccam tulaci
- Telugu
- nimma-tulasi, nimmatulasi, rama-tulasi
- Malayalam
- കാട്ടുതുളസി, കാ ട്ടുതുളസി, സുമുഖം
- Marathi
- ajavala, राम तुलसी ramatulasi, tanatulasu
- Sinhala
- මහ මදුරුතලා
Ram Tulsi in India
Ram tulsi is the tall, large-leaved cousin of holy basil with a clove-like scent — राम तुलसी Ram tulsi (Hindi), elumichantulasi (Tamil), nimma-tulasi (Telugu), കാട്ടുതുളസി (Malayalam), ajavala (Marathi), ৰাম তুলসী Ram tulsi (Bengali). Ocimum gratissimum is grown and naturalised across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, in gardens, courtyards and on roadsides.
Uses
Like other tulsis it is grown for worship and as a fragrant herbal plant, brewed into teas and used in attributed traditional remedies for coughs and colds (not medical advice). Its clove-scented essential oil is rich in eugenol and used in perfumery.
How to Identify Ram Tulsi
A robust, shrubby aromatic herb, taller and coarser than common tulsi, with large oval toothed leaves on square stems. Crushed leaves smell strongly of cloves. Slender whorled flower spikes carry small greenish-yellow to white flowers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Wild Basil called in different Indian languages?
- राम तुलसी Ram tulsi (Hindi); elumichantulasi (Tamil); nimma-tulasi (Telugu); കാട്ടുതുളസി (Malayalam); ajavala (Marathi); ৰাম তুলসী Ram tulsi (Bengali).
- How is ram tulsi different from regular tulsi?
- Ram tulsi (Ocimum gratissimum) is taller and coarser with larger leaves and a clove-like scent, while common holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is smaller; both are sacred and aromatic.
- What is ram tulsi used for?
- It is grown for worship and as a fragrant herb, brewed in teas and used in attributed traditional remedies — described for information, not medical advice.
Lamiaceae
Mint/Sage family
Ram Tulsi belongs to the Lamiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Lamiaceae
View all Lamiaceae →Sources: GBIF — Ocimum gratissimum (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Ocimum gratissimum (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Ocimum gratissimum (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)