There are over 150 different types of basil. It may not be well known, but basil is part of the mint family, or family Lamiaceae. The most common basil used in cooking is sweet basil, which has been used for thousand of years in Italian dishes. There is almost no limit on how you can use it from dishes such as pizzas and pastas to drinks such as strawberry basil lemonade.
Here are some of the most popular and not so widely known types of basil that you can grow in your garden and add to any dish when cooking. Many types of basil are available at local stores such as Home Depot or WalMart while others might be more difficult to find and can be purchased online.
African Blue Basil
Boxwood Basil
Cinnamon Basil
Genovese Basil
Greek Basil
Holy Basil
Lemon Basil
Mammoth Basil
Pesto Perpetuo Basil
Purple Basil
Red Rubin Basil
Spicy Globe Basil
Sweet Basil
Thai Basil