What is tulsi called in different Indian languages?

Tulsi keeps a very similar name across India: तुलसी (Hindi), तुळस (Marathi), துளசி (Tamil), తులసి (Telugu), ತುಳಸಿ (Kannada), തുളസി (Malayalam), তুলসী (Bengali), તુલસી (Gujarati), ତୁଳସୀ (Odia) and ਤੁਲਸੀ (Punjabi). In English it is holy or sacred basil.

Where does tulsi grow in India?

Tulsi is recorded almost throughout India — including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal — both in cultivation and as a naturalised roadside plant.

Is tulsi the same as the basil used in cooking?

No. Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is a different species from sweet or culinary basil (Ocimum basilicum). Both belong to the mint family and look similar, but tulsi has a sharper, clove-like aroma and is grown mainly for ritual and herbal use rather than for cooking.

What is tulsi used for?

Tulsi is best known as a sacred plant in Hindu households and temples. Its leaves are also brewed as a herbal tea and used in traditional Ayurvedic preparations (an attributed traditional use, not medical advice), and the foliage yields an aromatic essential oil.

✿Lamiaceae · Ocimum

Ocimum tenuiflorum

Tulsi

Also known as Holy Basil

Native in Indian regions · reviewedoutdoor

Found in India: Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh & more

Identify this plant with SASYA

One plant. Many familiar names.

Tulsi 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.

Recorded regional names for Tulsi
Language	Regional script	Recorded Latin spelling
Hindi	तुलसी	Tulsi
Tamil	துளசி	Not recorded
Telugu	తులసి	Not recorded
Kannada	ತುಳಸಿ	Not recorded
Malayalam	തുളസി	Not recorded
Marathi	तुळस	Not recorded
Bengali	তুলসী	Not recorded
Gujarati	તુલસી	Not recorded
Odia	ତୁଳସୀ	Not recorded
Punjabi	ਤੁਲਸੀ	Not recorded
Urdu	تلسی	Not recorded
Nepali	तुलसी	Not recorded
Sinhala	හීං මදුරුතලා	Not recorded

See the original recorded names

Hindi: तुलसी Tulsi
Tamil: துளசி
Telugu: తులసి
Kannada: ತುಳಸಿ
Malayalam: തുളസി
Marathi: तुळस
Bengali: তুলসী
Gujarati: તુલસી
Odia: ତୁଳସୀ
Punjabi: ਤੁਲਸੀ
Urdu: تلسی
Nepali: तुलसी
Sinhala: හීං මදුරුතලා

The growing essentials

Tulsi at a glance

Source-linked growing guidance. Adjust care to your climate, season and growing conditions. Unrecorded values are shown explicitly.

Sunlight: Full sun
Water & soil moisture: Moderate water; moist, well-drained soil
Pot & placement: Suitable for container planting
Pet safety: Not yet verified

Water needs are conditional; these cards do not prescribe a fixed watering interval. Review dates belong to the individual source records.

A little more context

Growing context & reported issues

Published observations about growing settings, size and common problems. These are context for a plant profile, rather than a diagnosis of the plant in front of you.

Growing setting

Grown in containers and edible gardens; confine to manage spread

Reported size

Grows rapidly to about 90 cm

Ecology & growing context

Reviewed native status: Native range includes India; also native elsewhere in tropical Asia Source ↗
Individually reviewed range. Native status applies to the stated region.
Small footprint. Deep heritage.: Often grown near homes and places of worship, this familiar undershrub also appears in scrub and deciduous forests. Follow the familiar name back out into the wild. Field source ↗
Pollinator connections: Flowers attract small mason bees and sweat bees Source ↗
Explore nearby plants: Kerala →Maharashtra →Andhra Pradesh →

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 Tulsi

Identify Tulsi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.

Check the distinctive field mark: Sacred basil (tulsi).
Confirm leaf type: Simple.
Confirm leaf shape: Ovate.
Confirm flower colour: Purple.
Confirm flower arrangement: Raceme.
Use the leaf pattern: opposite leaf arrangement, simple leaves, toothed leaf margins, pinnate venation.
In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and nearby regions.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Ocimum tenuiflorum
Genus: Ocimum
Family: Lamiaceae
Found in India: Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Goa, Puducherry, Uttarakhand, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Leaf type: SimplerecordedA single, undivided leaf blade.“they are simple, petioled, with an ovate blade up to 5 cm (2 in) long, which usually has a slightly toothed margin;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf shape: OvaterecordedEgg-shaped, broader near the base.“they are simple, petioled, with an ovate blade up to 5 cm (2 in) long, which usually has a slightly toothed margin;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf margin: ToothedrecordedA saw-like or jagged edge (serrate or dentate).“they are simple, petioled, with an ovate blade up to 5 cm (2 in) long, which usually has a slightly toothed margin;” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf surface: Pubescent (softly hairy)recorded

Typical of the family

Arrangement: Opposite
Venation: Pinnate

Characters marked “recorded” are for Tulsi itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour: PurplerecordedPurple or violet
Flower arrangement: RacemerecordedIndividual stalked flowers arranged along a central stem, opening from bottom to top.“The purplish flowers are placed in close whorls on elongated racemes.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Typical of the family

Flower symmetry: Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
Inflorescence: Cyme
Fruit: Nutlets

Characters marked “recorded” are for Tulsi itself; the rest are typical of the Lamiaceae family — flowering plants only.

Tulsi in India

Few plants are as woven into Indian daily life as tulsi. The same herb is तुलसी in Hindi, तुळस in Marathi, துளசி in Tamil, తులసి in Telugu, ತುಳಸಿ in Kannada, തുളസി in Malayalam, তুলসী in Bengali and તુલસી in Gujarati — known in English as holy or sacred basil. Botanically Ocimum tenuiflorum, it is grown in courtyards, doorways and temple precincts across almost the whole of India; herbarium and citizen-science records place it from Kerala and Tamil Nadu through Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, and across to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal. An aromatic member of the mint family (Lamiaceae), it is as likely to be found in a clay pot on a balcony as growing semi-wild along roadsides.

Uses

In the Vaishnava tradition tulsi is treated as a sacred plant, often tended in a dedicated tulsi-vrindavan, and its leaves feature in daily worship. Beyond ritual, the leaves are brewed into an everyday herbal tea and the plant has a long-standing place in Ayurveda, where it appears in attributed traditional preparations for coughs and colds — a traditional use, not medical advice. The aromatic foliage also yields an essential oil rich in eugenol.

How to Identify Tulsi

Tulsi is a softly hairy, strongly aromatic perennial herb. Like other mints it shows the family's hallmark four-angled (square) stems and paired, opposite leaves; the leaves are oval with a toothed margin and range from green (Rama tulsi) to purplish (Krishna tulsi). Small tubular flowers are carried in slender, whorled spikes. Crushing a leaf releases a clove-like scent that quickly separates it from sweet or culinary basil (Ocimum basilicum), which is milder and sweeter.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is tulsi called in different Indian languages?: Tulsi keeps a very similar name across India: तुलसी (Hindi), तुळस (Marathi), துளசி (Tamil), తులసి (Telugu), ತುಳಸಿ (Kannada), തുളസി (Malayalam), তুলসী (Bengali), તુલસી (Gujarati), ତୁଳସୀ (Odia) and ਤੁਲਸੀ (Punjabi). In English it is holy or sacred basil.
Where does tulsi grow in India?: Tulsi is recorded almost throughout India — including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal — both in cultivation and as a naturalised roadside plant.
Is tulsi the same as the basil used in cooking?: No. Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is a different species from sweet or culinary basil (Ocimum basilicum). Both belong to the mint family and look similar, but tulsi has a sharper, clove-like aroma and is grown mainly for ritual and herbal use rather than for cooking.
What is tulsi used for?: Tulsi is best known as a sacred plant in Hindu households and temples. Its leaves are also brewed as a herbal tea and used in traditional Ayurvedic preparations (an attributed traditional use, not medical advice), and the foliage yields an aromatic essential oil.

Botanical family

Lamiaceae

Mint/Sage family

Tulsi belongs to the Lamiaceae family.

The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.

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Common plant problems

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More in Lamiaceae

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Sources: GBIF — Ocimum tenuiflorum (India occurrences, distribution, vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Ocimum tenuiflorum (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Sasya internal dataset (taxonomy, conservation status) · Wikipedia — Ocimum tenuiflorum (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)