Flower profile

Wild basil

Clinopodium vulgare

Wild basil (Clinopodium vulgare) is a flowering plant in the Lamiaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly June–September across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Wild basil is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 4 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in June–September.

32states where USDA records it

4Bloomipedia state lists include it

14,153U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

Quick look

Clinopodium vulgare, or the wild basil, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae.
From Wikipedia's article Clinopodium vulgare, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Lamiaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 32 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to New York, Virginia and West Virginia. ^NatureServe
NatureServe lists it as not native to Pennsylvania. ^NatureServe
In New York, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–October. ^iNaturalist
In Pennsylvania, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–September. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 2,740 research-grade sightings of it in New York, ranking #84 among the 193 flowers on our New York list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 2,383 research-grade sightings of it in Pennsylvania, ranking #89 among the 190 flowers on our Pennsylvania list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 1,612 research-grade sightings of it in Virginia, ranking #103 among the 189 flowers on our Virginia list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (1,398 records)

Bloom time in the 4 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
New York	Native	June–October	2,740
Pennsylvania	Introduced	June–September	2,383
Virginia	Native	June–October	1,612
West Virginia	Native	June–October	853

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
New York: Not listed Not on New York protected native plants (6 NYCRR § 193.3). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in New York. ^{6 NYCRR § 193.3}
Pennsylvania: Not listed Not on Pennsylvania classified native plants (17 Pa. Code Ch. 45, Subchapter B, as amended 2023). NatureServe: S5, secure in Pennsylvania. ^{17 Pa. Code Ch. 45}
Virginia: Not listed Not on Virginia endangered and threatened plant and insect species (2VAC5-320-10). NatureServe: S5, secure in Virginia. ^2VAC5-320-10
West Virginia: No list West Virginia has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (only federally listed species are protected), so we show NatureServe's West Virginia ranks instead. NatureServe: S5, secure in West Virginia.
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records wild basil in 32 states plus Washington, D.C.

AKMEVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILWIMINYRIMAORNVWYSDIAINOHPANJCTCAUTCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFL

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin; District of Columbia.

New York counties with USDA records: Albany, Bronx, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Schoharie, Steuben, Suffolk, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Westchester, Wyoming, Yates.

Pennsylvania counties with USDA records: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Potter, Schuylkill, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland, Wyoming, York.

Virginia counties with USDA records: Albemarle, Alleghany, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Arlington, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Buckingham, Campbell, Carroll, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Clarke, Culpeper, Dickenson, Fairfax, Fauquier, Floyd, Fluvanna, Franklin, Frederick, Giles, Goochland, Grayson, Greene, Halifax, Henrico, Highland, King George, King and Queen, Lancaster, Lee, Loudoun, Lunenburg, Madison, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, Montgomery, Nelson, Orange, Page, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince William, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Roanoke, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Russell, Scott, Shenandoah, Smyth, Stafford, Tazewell, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland, Wise, Wythe, York.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Canada: Native; Lower 48 states: Native; St. Pierre and Miquelon: Native.

Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Satureja vulgaris.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 512 counties across 26 states; the most are in Pennsylvania (67), Virginia (67), Michigan (61).

More from the Lamiaceae family (44 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Common selfheal, Ground-ivy, Red deadnettle, American beautyberry, Henbit deadnettle, Wild bergamot, Lyreleaf sage, American germander.

More New York flowers

Red deadnettle

Lamium purpureum

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in NY: March–May

Ground-ivy

Glechoma hederacea

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in NY: April–June

Common selfheal

Prunella vulgaris

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in NY: June–August

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile CLVU.
iNaturalist, Clinopodium vulgare: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Clinopodium vulgare (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
New York: New York protected native plants (6 NYCRR § 193.3).
New York: New York prohibited and regulated invasive species (6 NYCRR Part 575).
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania classified native plants (17 Pa. Code Ch. 45, Subchapter B, as amended 2023).
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Noxious Weed List (3 Pa.C.S. § 1519, PA Dept. of Agriculture) (PDA's page spells garlic mustard “Allaria petiolata”; we match it as Alliaria petiolata).
Virginia: Virginia endangered and threatened plant and insect species (2VAC5-320-10).
Virginia: Virginia noxious weeds (2VAC5-317-20, Tier 1, 2 and 3).
West Virginia: West Virginia noxious weeds (W. Va. Code R. § 61-14A-5) (the rule abbreviates some names (e.g. “P. cuspidatum”); we expand them to match).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Clinopodium vulgare (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Larry Jensen via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.