Origin

Jamaica

Folk medicinal uses

This plant is grown in gardens and, in addition to its use in cooking, it is employed in a similar manner to the wild species. Ocimum spp. are used in Trinidad, where they are called mosquito bush, in the treatment of colds and are hung in the houses to keep away mosquitoes.

Asprey, G.F; Phylis Thornton/ Medicinal plants of Jamaica. Parts I & II. – p. 15.