HENNA, the Persian name for a small shrub found in India, Persia, the Levant and along the African coasts of the Mediter ranean, where it is frequently cultivated. It is the Lawsonia iner mis of botanists, so called because young trees are spineless, while older ones have the branchlets hardened into spines. It forms a slender shrubby plant of from 8 ft. to 1 o ft. high, with opposite lance-shaped smooth leaves, which are entire at the margins, and bears small white four-petalled sweet-scented flowers disposed in panicles. Its Egyptian name is Khenna, its Arabic name Al Khanna, its Indian name Mendee, while in England it is called Egyptian privet, and in the West Indies, where it is naturalized, Jamaica mignonette.
Henna or Henne is of ancient repute as a cosmetic. This con sists of the leaves of the Lawsonia powdered and made up into a paste ; this is employed by the Egyptian women, and also by the Mohammedan women in India, to dye their finger-nails and other parts of their hands and feet an orange-red colour, which is con sidered to add to their beauty. The colour lasts for three or four weeks, when it requires to be renewed. It is moreover used for dyeing the hair and beard, and even the manes of horses; and the same material is employed for dyeing skins and morocco-leather a reddish-yellow, but it contains no tannin. The practice of dye ing the nails was common amongst the Egyptians, and not to con form to it would have been considered indecent. It has descended from very remote ages, as is proved by the evidence afforded by Egyptian mummies, the nails of which are most commonly stained a reddish hue. Henna is also said to have been held in repute amongst the Hebrews, being considered to be the plant referred to as camphire in the Bible (Song of Solomon i. 14, iv. 13). "The custom of dyeing the nails and palms of the hands and soles of the feet of an iron-rust colour with henna," observes Dr. J. Forbes Royle, "exists throughout the East from the Mediterranean to the Ganges, as well as in northern Africa. In some parts the practice is not confined to women and children, but is also followed by men, especially in Persia. In dyeing the beard the hair is turned to red by this application, which is then changed to black by a prepara tion of indigo. In dyeing the hair of children, and the tails and manes of horses and asses, the process is allowed to stop at the red colour which the henna produces." Mohammed, it is said, used henna as a dye for his beard, and the fashion was adopted by the caliphs.
The preparation of henna consists in reducing the leaves and young twigs to a fine powder, catechu or lucerne leaves in a pul verized state being sometimes mixed with them. When required for use, the powder is made into a pasty mass with hot water, and is then spread upon the part to be dyed, where it is generally al lowed to remain for one night. The distilled water from the flowers is used as a perfume.