LAWSONIA INERMIS. Lien.
Lawsonia alba, Lace., W. Lawsonia spinosa, Linn. Urkan, . . . . ARAB. Henna,Mbendi, Shudu, . . . BENG. Ponta letshi, . MALEAL.
Dan, Bush. Daunlacca, „ Chi-kiah-hwa,. CHIN. Sakachara, . . . SAHEB.
Hai-nah, . . „ Marudani, . . . . TAM.
Yen-chi-kiah, . „ Goranta, Iveni, . . TEL.
Egyptian privet, ENG. NA-kriZ, . TRANS-INDIIS.
The henna shrub is the camphire of the English Bible, and the cypress shrub of the Greeks and Romans. It is held in esteem by the Arabs, the Turks, and Indian and Persian Muhammadan. The colouring of the flowers is soft, and fragrance delightful; hedges formed of it are common in all India. The distilled water of the flowers is used as a perfume. The extract of the flowers, leaves, and shoots is used by the hakims in lepra, and in obstinate cutaneous diseases, half a teaspoonful being given twice in 24 hours. Muhammadan
women in India, Persia, Arabia, and Barbary use the shoots, triturated with rice gruel or water, in staining the nails, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet of a red colour. In all these countries the manes and tails of the horses are stained red in the same manner. The essential oil of the petals is priced at Rs. 2 per tola. Ispund, the seeds of this plant, are burnt as a charm with benjamin, or with mustard seed and patchouli, Pogostemon patchouli. Its wood is strong, and suited for tool handles, tent pegs. etc. Moore alludes to it when he says ' Some bring leaves of henna to imbue The fingers' ends of a roseate hue, So bright, that in the mirror's depth they seem Like tips of coral branches in We stream.' This use of the leaves is as old as the Egyptian mummies.