Plant · P-580

African Blue Basil

Ocimum kilimandscharicum

African Blue Basil is a sterile hybrid between camphor basil and the purple-leaved Dark Opal basil, propagated from cuttings rather than seed since it never sets fruit. Its leaves carry a hint of camphor over an ordinary spicy basil flavor and are best used fresh, in salads, drinks and ice cube purees, since basil does not dry well. Because it never sets seed it never stops flowering either, blooming from summer until frost and giving bees a season-long nectar source that a seed-setting basil cannot. Its wild parent species, true camphor basil, is instead grown commercially as a source of camphor and planted by doorways and seating as a mosquito repellent.