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

Tulsi

Ocimum tenuiflorum

Also known as Holy Basil

outdoor

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

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Plant Details

Scientific name: Ocimum tenuiflorum
Genus: Ocimum
Family: Lamiaceae
Found in India: Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Leaf characters

Arrangement: Opposite
Type: Simple
Margin: Toothed
Venation: Pinnate

Recorded for Tulsi.

Flower & fruit characters

Flower symmetry: Bilateral
Inflorescence: Cyme
Fruit: Nutlets

Typical of the Lamiaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.

Local Names

Hindi: 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

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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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)