Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_ocimum_gratissimum
Wild Basil
Ocimum gratissimum
Open this record in the interactive AtlasAbout Wild Basil
A woody-based perennial subshrub with stalked ovate pointed leaves bearing serrate margins and many gland dots. Small greenish-white-to-greenish-yellow flowers have two-lipped, gland-dotted calyces that enlarge in fruit. The fruits are small, nearly rounded, slightly wrinkled nutlets. Established wild occurrence warrants observations of occupied cover, reproductive plants and new recruits. These measurements can test persistence and spread. The reviewed accounts do not quantify an island-wide effect on Kauaʻi native vegetation.
Kauaʻi evidence
Generated media is not occurrence evidence. Proposed monitoring endpoints are not reported observations, measured effects or causal findings.
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Ocimum gratissimum
- Common names
- wild basil
- Other names
- Ocimum gratissimum · wild basil
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Recorded on Kauaʻi
- Origin
- Introduced
- Conservation status
- Not yet assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-10-07
- Evidence limits
- Island-level public occurrence only.
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Not yet assessed
- Food and resource needs
- Not yet assessed
- Reproduction
- Not yet assessed
- Shelter
- Not yet assessed
- Growth form
- Shrub or subshrub; Perennial herb or subshrub, woody at base; stems 1‒3 m long.
Threats and conservation
- Monitoring
- Occupied area and vegetation cover; Mature plants and new recruits; Reproductive plants and fruiting frequency. Proposed monitoring endpoints are not reported observations, measured effects or causal findings.
- Data gaps
- Current island extent and population trend · Measured local ecological effects
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Not yet assessed
- Seasonal description
- A woody-based perennial subshrub with stalked ovate pointed leaves bearing serrate margins and many gland dots. Small greenish-white-to-greenish-yellow flowers have two-lipped, gland-dotted calyces that enlarge in fruit. The fruits are small, nearly rounded, slightly wrinkled nutlets. Established wild occurrence warrants observations of occupied cover, reproductive plants and new recruits. These measurements can test persistence and spread. The reviewed accounts do not quantify an island-wide effect on Kauaʻi native vegetation.