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Lawsonia inermis
Also called Egyptian Privet, Mignonette Tree, Camphire, Henna Tree, Jamaica Mignonette
In Singapore: Henna Tree, Inai, Hinai, Mignonette Tree, Egyptian Privet, Hinna, Pacar Kuku, 指甲花, 散沫花 (Grown in Singapore)
Henna is a tall shrub or small tree grown for its leaves, which are dried and ground to make the traditional red-orange dye used on hair, skin and nails. It is a warm-climate plant that needs heat, sun and plenty of water during its growing season.
Lawsonia inermis, also known as hina, the henna tree, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet, 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. The species is named after the Scottish physician Isaac Lawson, a good friend of Linnaeus.
It produces the most dye when grown in temperatures between 35 and 45 °C (95 and 113 °F). 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 11 °C (52 °F). Temperatures below 5 °C (41 °F) will kill the henna plant.
The henna plant is native to northern and eastern Africa, Asia and northern Australia, in semi-arid zones and tropical areas.
Henna contains chemicals such as lawsone. Preliminary studies indicate that lawsone, and henna leaves generally, have antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and potentially tumor suppressing properties. However, the safety and efficacy of such chemicals in humans has not yet been established.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lawsonia inermis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
