Culinary basils are Ocimum basilicum and will not hybridize with tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum). Different types of culinary basil will hybridize with eachother–just grow one kind–like “Genovese” for example. If you’ve grown different kinds simultaneously, buy your basil seed from a reputable supplier like Strictly Medicinal Seeds.

Hi! There really are a lot of basil cultivars. The only ones that can be technically called “Tulsi” in a reductionist sense are Ocimum tenuiflorum cultivars of which there are 2 main ones: Rama and Krishna. Thai basil is Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflorum which is clearly not tulsi. However, there are Red (reddish/purple) thai basils that are used in thai cooking that are sometimes called holy basil and really do resemble Krishna tulsi. But when you look at the chromatograms they are really very different. richo

right, you can get properly identified tulsi seeds at Strictly Medicinal Seeds. The Krishna and Rama tulsi are more challenging to grow in the temperate north and give less yield. medicinally stronger than the temperate tulsi, still many prefer the temperate tulsi as an easy-to-grow alternative, a tasty tea herb that self-seeds and is quite productive.