Garden Forwardedible
Basil
Ocimum basilicum
Growing guidance
Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.
Current-climate suitability
Create a garden to see this
Future-climate resilience
Create a garden to see this
Sun
Full sun
Soil moisture
average, moisture-retentive
Heat tolerance
Up to about 40°C
Cold tolerance
Down to about 6°C
Waterlogging tolerance
1/5
Drought tolerance
1/5
Mature size
0.3–0.5 m tall, 0.3 m spread
Seasonal interest
Summer · White
Maintenance
medium
Wildlife supported
General wildlife value 2/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)
Known risks or warnings
Killed by the first cold nights; needs regular water.
Toxicity: none
Verified botanical record
- Accepted scientific name
- Ocimum basilicum L.
- Family
- Lamiaceae (Lamiales)
- Rank and status
- species · accepted
- GBIF record
- Taxon 2927096
Recorded as introduced in: ABEMAMA ATOLL, Angola, Anguilla, Bahamas, Belgium, Benin, Bogotá, Bolivia, Brazil Southeast, Bulgaria, Burkina, Burundi and 138 further regions
Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also known as Genovese basil or sweet basil. Basil is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia. In temperate climates basil is treated as an annual plant, but it can be grown as a short-lived perennial or biennial in warmer horticultural zones with tropical or Mediterranean climates. There are many varieties of basil including sweet basil, Thai basil (O. basilicum var. thyrsiflora), and Mrs. Burns' Lemon (O. basilicum var. citriodora). O. basilicum can cross-pollinate with other species of the Ocimum genus, producing hybrids such as lemon basil (O. × africanum) and African blue basil (O. × kilimandscharicum).
Description from Wikipedia — Basil (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.
Native status and geographic context
- United Kingdom: climate-suitable
- United States: climate-suitable
- Australia: climate-suitable
Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.
Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.