| HABIT : A small herb, much branched with square stem, purple, hairy. |
| LEAVES : Opposite, ovate acute gland-dotted. |
| INFLORESCENCE : Verticillaster |
| FLOWERS : 6 flower whorls, bracteates, bracts stalked, ovate, hairy.
Calyx bilabiate, hairy. Corolla bilabiate, pink or purple with long white hairs.Stamens 4, didynamous. Ovary bicarpellary, 4-celled, deeply 4-lobed, style gynobasic, stigma bifid.
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| FRUIT : Nutlets 4 with persistent calyx. |
| FLOWERING AND FRUITING TIME : August - November |
| Ocimum basilicum L. (Lamiaceae) commonly known as sweet basil, has been used as a traditional medicinal plant for the treatment of headaches, coughs, diarrhea, constipation, warts, worms, and kidney malfunctions. |
| Basil is used for stomach spasms, loss of appetite, intestinal gas, kidney conditions, fluid retention, head colds, warts, and worm infections. |
| It is also used to treat snake and insect bites. Women sometimes use basil before and after childbirth to promote blood circulation, and also to start the flow of breast milk. |
