Basil

herb · cooking · tropical plants · mint family

A tropical plant. Basil comes from tropical regions stretching from Central Africa all the way to Southeast Asia, where it loves warm, sunny weather.

Cooks love it. People use basil in kitchens all around the world, but in Western cooking, sweet basil is the most popular kind for making pesto, pasta, and pizza taste incredible.

Tender and warm-loving. Basil is picky about cold, so in chilly places people grow it as an annual plant (one season only), but in warm areas it can live for years.

Related to mints. Basil belongs to the mint family, which means it's cousins with plants like oregano, thyme, and the mint you find in toothpaste.