Description
Perennial Basil (Ocimum × kilimandscharicum) is a robust, long-lived basil species valued for its strong camphor-clove fragrance, ornamental purple-flushed foliage, and ability to thrive where annual basils fade. Believed to originate as a hybrid between African and sweet basil, it forms woody stems and lush aromatic growth that can be pruned repeatedly through the warm season. The mauve-lavender flower spikes attract bees for months, making it a lovely pollinator plant as well as a productive herb. Although not typically used fresh in cooking like sweet basil due to its resinous flavour, its leaves can be used in infused vinegars, potpourri, natural insect repellents, or medicinal preparations for colds, congestion, and muscle rubs. It is easily propagated by cuttings and prefers warm, sunny conditions with free-draining soil. In frost-free parts of New Zealand, it remains evergreen and shrubby; elsewhere it can be overwintered indoors or restarted from cuttings each spring.
