Henna (Lawsonia inermis)
June 18, 2007 — Vasant M. SalianHenna (Lawsonia inermis), or Mehndi, as it is called in Hindi, is a symbol of festivity in India. It is especially associated with marriage in north India. Its leaves produce the henna or alhenna of the Arabs (cyprus of the ancients), a yellow die which is used in Egypt and elsewhere by women to colour their nails, and by men to die their beards, and for other similar uses including horses manes and tails.
It is known in the West Indies as “Egyptian privet”, and sometimes as “reseda”. It is the camphire of the authorized version of the Bible. A member of the Lythraceae, along with Crape Myrtles and Mexican Heather. Among the most fragrant flowers on earth. Widely cultivated in tropical countries but probably native to North Africa and Asia. It is best grown as a tender outdoor container tropical or annual and can be propagated by cuttings or seed. The fragrance is best from a distance when mixed with air.
Henna produces a red-orange dye molecule, lawsone. This molecule has an affinity for bonding with protein, and thus has been used to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool. Henna is commercially cultivated in western India, Pakistan, Morocco, Yemen, Iran, Sudan and Libya. Presently the Pali district of Rajasthan is the most heavily cultivated henna production area in India, with over 100 henna processors operating in Sojat City.
Though henna has been used for body art and hair dye since the Bronze Age, henna has had a recent renaissance in body art due to improvements in cultivation, processing, and the diasporas of people from traditional henna using regions.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Myrtales
Family : Lythraceae
Genus : Lawsonia
Species : Lawsonia inermis
Pronunciation/Meaning:
- Lythraceae (ly-THRAY-see-ay) - The Lythrum family (the Greek word means blood or gore).
- Lawsonia (law-SOH-nee-uh) - Named for Isaac Lawson, 18th century Scottish army doctor; friend and patron of Linneaus.
- inermis (IN-er-mis) - Not spiny, unarmed.
Common Names:
- Henna, Jamaica mignonette, Egyptian privet, Mignonette tree, Smooth lawsonia (English)
- Henna, Mehndi (Hindi)
- Madyantika, Mendhika, Ragangi, Raktgarbha (Sanskrit)
- Marudaani (Tamil)
- Gorintaaku (Telugu)
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