[5][6][7] The herb is grown primarily in northeastern Africa and southern Asia for its fragrant lemon scent, and is used in cooking.

Lemon basil is a popular herb in Arab, Indonesian, Filipino, Lao, Malay, Indian, Persian and Thai cuisine.

The leaves are used in certain Thai curries and it is also indispensable for the noodle dish khanom chin nam ya.

In the Philippines, where it is called sangig, particularly in Cebu and parts of Mindanao, Lemon basil is used to add flavor to law-uy, which is an assortment of local greens in a vegetable-based soup.

In Manipur, it is used in curry like pumpkin, used in singju (a form of salad), and in red or green chilli pickles.

It is, however, a good idea for it to be left to flower and set seeds that will be collected during fall, because the cold winter frosts will kill the basil plant anyway.

The setup is simply a Mason jar filled with water and a square of mesh with holes large enough to hold the plant in place while the roots grow.

As many cuttings as the gardener wishes can be planted, preferably the most vigorous stems that can be found because they will root faster.

After 2–3 weeks, the roots will be long enough for the cuttings to be transplanted into pots or planted in their permanent position to keep in the garden.