description
Henna is a tall shrub or small tree of the Lyrthraceae family,
standing 1.8 to 7.6 m (5 ft 10 in to 24 ft 10 in) tall. It is glabrous and
multi-branched, with spine-tipped branchlets. The leaves grow opposite each
other on the stem and 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 0.6–2 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
2 mm (0.079 in) calyx tube, with 3 mm (0.12 in) spread lobes. Its petals are
obvate, with white or red stamens found in pairs on the rim of the calyx
tube. The ovary is four-celled, 5 mm (0.20 in) long, and erect. Henna fruits
are small, brownish capsules, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) in diameter, with 32–49
seeds per fruit, and open irregularly into four splits.
common names & nomenclature
The English name "henna" comes from the Arabic word pronounced as hinna.
Also known as:
hina, henna tree, mignonette tree, egyptian privet, henne, al-khanna, al-henna,
jamaica mignonette, mehndi, mendee, smooth lawsonia