Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Herb guide to African Basil along with all the African Basil containing recipes presented on this site, with 4 recipes in total.

e This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain African Basil as a major herb flavouring.

African Basil, Ocimum americanun (also known as yerba di hole, American basil, lime basil, or hoary basil) is a tropical flowering herb which is part of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. The plant itself is a hairy annual herbaceous plant that grows up to 40 cm tall, with toothed, opposite leaves and small, white or purple flowers in clusters. The plant has a long taproot that extends deep into the ground. The entire plant is highly aromatic, with an odor comparable to citrus. As such, it can be used for culinary purposes in similar ways to sweet basil (O. basilicum). It is also used for essential oil whose scent appears to be a natural blend between that of lime peels and that of O. basilicum.



It is a native of Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. The species is naturalized in Queensland, Christmas Island, and parts of tropical America, particularly in the Caribbean, where it is used in the local Creole cookery.



African basil is typically used in soups and stews for its citrusy aroma. As an annual it is typically tender and is often pounded in a mortar before adding to food to release even more of its flavour.

For other basil variants and cultivars, see the entries on: 'Sweet' basil; Thai basil; African blue basil and holy basil and lemon basil.