Lawsonia inermis
{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{refimprove|date=May 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Lawsonia inermis (3709419835).jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Lawsonia
| parent_authority = L.{{cite DNB|wstitle=Lawson, Isaac}} Linnaeus dedicated the genus Lawsonia to Isaac Lawson (d. 1747).
| species = inermis
| authority = L.
| synonyms =
{{Plainlist | style = margin-left: 1em; text-indent: -1em; |
- Alcanna spinosa (L.) Gaertn.
- Casearia multiflora Spreng.
- Lawsonia alba Lam. nom. illeg.
- Lawsonia speciosa L.
- Lawsonia spinosa L.
- Rotantha combretoides Baker
}}
| synonyms_ref = {{citation
|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2353863
|title=The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species
|accessdate=23 May 2017}}
}}
Lawsonia inermis, also known as hina, the henna tree, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet,{{cite book |isbn=978-0025054707 |last1=Bailey |first1=L.H. |last2=Bailey |first2=E.Z. |year=1976 |title=Hortus Third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hortusthirdconci00bail }} is a flowering plant and one of the only two species of the genus Lawsonia, with the other being Lawsonia odorata. It is used as a traditional medicinal plant.{{cite Banglapedia |article=Flora |author=M Iqbal Zuberi}} The species is named after the Scottish physician Isaac Lawson, a good friend of Linnaeus.
Description
Henna is a tall shrub or small tree, standing {{convert|1.8|to|7.6|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=x| tall (|)|0}}. It is glabrous and multi-branched, with spine-tipped branchlets. The leaves grow opposite each other on the stem. They are glabrous, sub-sessile, elliptical, and lanceolate (long and wider in the middle; average dimensions are 1.5–5.0 cm x 0.5–2 cm or .6–2 in x 0.2–0.8 in), acuminate (tapering to a long point), and have depressed veins on the dorsal surface. Henna flowers have four sepals and a {{convert|2|mm|abbr=on}} calyx tube, with {{convert|3|mm|abbr=on}} spread lobes. Its petals are ovate, with white or red stamens found in pairs on the rim of the calyx tube. The ovary is four-celled, {{convert|5|mm|abbr=on}} long, and erect. Henna fruits are small, brownish capsules, {{convert|4|–|8|mm|abbr=on}} in diameter, with 32–49 seeds per fruit, and open irregularly into four splits.{{cite book|author=Kumar S.|author2=Singh Y. V.|author3=Singh, M.|name-list-style=amp |year=2005 |chapter=Agro-History, Uses, Ecology and Distribution of Henna (Lawsonia inermis L. syn. Alba Lam) |title=Henna: Cultivation, Improvement, and Trade |pages=11–12 |location=Jodhpur |publisher=Central Arid Zone Research Institute |oclc=124036118}}
Distribution and habitat
The henna plant is native to northern Africa, Asia and northern Australia, in semi-arid zones and tropical areas.{{cite encyclopedia| title = henna (plant)| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica| accessdate = 5 May 2013| url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/261271/henna}}
Cultivation
It produces the most dye when grown in temperatures between {{convert|35|and|45|°C|°F|abbr=on}}.{{cite book| publisher = John Wiley & Sons| isbn = 9780470744963| last1 = Bechtold| first1 = Thomas| first2 = Rita|last2= Mussak| title = Handbook of Natural Colorants| url = https://archive.org/details/handbooknaturalc00bech| url-access = limited| date = 6 April 2009|page=[https://archive.org/details/handbooknaturalc00bech/page/n180 155]}} During the onset of precipitation intervals, the plant grows rapidly, putting out new shoots. Growth subsequently slows. The leaves gradually yellow and fall during prolonged dry or cool intervals. It does not thrive where minimum temperatures are below {{convert|11|°C|F}}. Temperatures below {{convert|5|°C|F}} will kill the henna plant.
Dye
{{main|Henna}}
Its dried leaves are the source of the dye henna used to dye skin, hair and fingernails, as well as fabrics including silk, wool and leather. To make dye, only the leaves that grow in the lower part of the plant are taken, otherwise their coloring capacity will be too great.{{Cite web |title=Окрашивание волос хной. Фото окрашенных волос хной и басмой {{!}} Womans-Beauty |url=https://womans-beauty.ru/okrashivanie-volos-hnoj/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Секреты красоты. Женские секреты красоты и здоровья}}
Said leaves also have antifungal and antiseptic properties.{{cite journal |last1=Buso |first1=Piergiacomo |last2=Manfredini |first2=Stefano |last3=Reza Ahmadi-Ashtiani |first3=Hamid |last4=Sciabica |first4=Sabrina |last5=Buzzi |first5=Raissa |last6=Vertuani |first6=Silvia |last7=Baldisserotto |first7=Anna |title=Iranian Medicinal Plants: From Ethnomedicine to Actual Studies |journal=Medicina |date=Feb 2020 |volume=56 |issue=3 |page=20 |doi=10.3390/medicina56030097|doi-access=free |pmid=32110920 |pmc=7143749 }}
Image gallery
File:Lawsonia inermis henna Egyptian privet Vijayanrajapuram 01.jpg|Henna flowers
File:Lawsonia inermis henna Egyptian privet Vijayanrajapuram 02.jpg|Henna flowers
File:Lawsonia inermis henna Egyptian privet Vijayanrajapuram 05.jpg|Henna flowers- night view
File:Lawsonia inermis henna Egyptian privet Vijayanrajapuram 07.jpg|Henna fruits
References
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Category:Plants described in 1753