African Blue Basil
Ocimum kilimandscharicum x basilicum
With rich, mellow-flavoured leaves, African blue basil makes a tasty pesto which can be used as a seasoning in soups and salads. It’s pinkish-lavender flowers with dark purple calyxes also make an attractive addition to salads, drinks, or garnishes. This basil is frequently grown as an ornamental because of its striking purple-veined leaves and continuous blooming. Another benefit in the garden is that it attracts a huge number of beneficial insects. It is a great plant to intercrop into any garden or food forest to increase pollination of nearby plants!
Water: Moderate
Hardiness: Frost Tender
Habit: Perennial herb that can reach 4' tall and 5' wide
Light: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Soil: Rich garden soil
Origin: A Naturally occurring hybrid basil variety, a cross between camphor basil and dark opal basil. In 1983 Peter Borchard, the owner of Companion Plants in Athens, Ohio, found it in his garden growing on its own near some of his camphor and dark opal basil plants.
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