Henna is a heavily-scented, much-branched, slender, evergreen shrub or small tree; it usually grows up to 6 metres tall, though specimens up to 12 metres have been recorded.
The stems and older branches can be spiny.

Henna has been used for thousands of years, especially in India, as a cosmetic and hair dye.
It is one of the oldest cosmetics in the world and its leaves are used to colour the fingernails, to paint or decorate the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, and to dye the hair. Written records of its use date back more than 2,500 years. It is of great importance in Islam, where it is used in many ceremonies, especially marriage. This latter use has been adopted also in Hinduism and Buddhism. The plant is often cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas both for its use as a dye plant and also as an ornamental, being appreciated especially for the strong, pleasant fragrance of its flowers, which is reminiscent of tea rose (Rosa chinensis).

Known Hazards

None known

Habitat

Dry, coastal secondary scrub wasteland. Naturalized plants are often found in temporarily flooded river beds and riverine thickets, but also on hillsides and in rock crevices, at elevations up to 1,350 metres.

Cultivation Status

Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of the dry to moist tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 19 - 27°c, but can tolerate 13 - 33°c.
It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 500 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 250 - 4,200mm.
Prefers a fertile, well-drained or dry soil in a sunny position.
A very greedy plant, removing large quantities of nutrients from the soil.
The plant is tolerant of poor, stony and sandy soils, but is also well adapted to heavy, fertile clay soils.
Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7, tolerating 4.3 - 8.
Established plants are very drought tolerant.

Henna can grow to the size of a large shrub or even small tree, but in cultivation is normally treated as a short-lived perennial crop and then grows up to 70cm tall.
Plants produce their best yields during the first 4 - 8 years after planting, but are often left in the field for 12 - 15 years, sometimes for as long as 40 years.
Under irrigation, yields of dry leaves may be 2 - 4 tonnes per hectare, while under rain fed conditions in northern India yields of 700 - 1,500 kilos per hectare are obtained.
Under intensive cultivation the plants are usually harvested twice a year from the second year onwards.
A very variable plant.
There are two main forms, one with creamy white blooms, the other with light red.
Both forms are heavily fragrant, although the cream form is more intensely so.
Its odour at short range is rank and overpowering, but from a distance it is like that of mignonette.

Plants flower all year round, though the seed capsules need to be removed since they inhibit flowering.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Henna has at times been used in traditional medicine as a remedy against almost any disease, much of this probably being based on the high regard the plant is held in rather than any actual benefits.
However, the plant does contain a range of medically active substances including coumarins, naphthaquinones (including lawsone), flavonoids, sterols and tannins, and is known to be of benefit in a range of conditions.
It is an astringent herb with a tea-like aroma, that controls bleeding and is antibacterial.
It is regarded as an alterative and nerve tonic in Ayurvedic medicine.
The leaves are taken internally in the treatment of amoebic dysentery.
They are also used in the treatment of diarrhoea and to promote menstrual flow.
They are used as a gargle to treat sore throats.
Extracts of the leaves have an astringent effect on the skin, making it somewhat hydrophobic. This effect, combined with a slight bactericidal and fungicidal action, makes it a useful medicine for external use against many skin and nail complaints.
The leaves are, therefore, used externally in the treatment of various skin diseases (including leprosy), wounds, ulcers and herpes.
An infusion of the leaves is mixed with tobacco and salt and used as a mouthwash.
Dyeing the hair with henna effectively kills lice.
The young leafy shoots, 20 - 25cm long, are picked during the growing season and dried for use in powders.
A decoction of the bark is used as an emmenagogue, and also to treat liver problems and nervous symptoms.
The stembark is chewed and then kept between the teeth for about 25 minutes in order to treat toothache.
The bark is often used in herbal medicines.

Agroforestry Uses

None Recorded

Other Uses

The crushed leaves are used to prepare a very fast reddish or yellowish dye.
It is used for dyeing cloth and hair, and as a cosmetic for staining finger and toe nails, palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
It has long been used traditionally in Islamic culture for staining the hair, beards, nails and skin.
The colour can be modified by adding other dyes such as Indigo, Gambier or the powder of areca nut.

In India, henna is traditionally used to paint intricate patterns on the skin, especially on the hands and feet of a bride and her female wedding guests.

Henna is commonly used as a hair conditioner and colouring, often mixed with chamomile flowers (Chamaemelum nobile).
When mixed with indigo (Indigo spp) it is used to impart a fine blue-black colour to beards and hair.
For dyeing the hair, a paste of the powdered leaves is applied to it and it is bound up with leaves, wax cloth, or oilskin. After a half hour or more the preparation is washed off and the hair is found to be of a bright red colour. If desired, a second application can then be made of the powder of the indigo plant (Indigofera spp.) made into a paste with water and allowed to remain three hours. This turns the hair a jet black. Ointments can be used to make it glossy. The process must be repeated frequently, as with other dyes, on account of the growth of the hair.
The dyeing agent in henna is lawsone, which is present in dry leaves at a concentration of 0.5 - 2%. It attaches itself strongly to proteins, and as a result the dye is very fast.
An essential oil obtained from the flowers is used in perfumery.
It is lilac-scented.
On steam distillation, the flowers yield 0.01 - 0.02% essential oil (henna oil), mainly consisting of α- and β-ionones, which can be used as a basis for perfumes.
The fragrant flowers are macerated, then infused in oil to impart their fine scent for use as a perfume.
The oil of Moringa peregrina (ben) is traditionally used because it does not easily become rancid - it produces a perfume with a greenish colour.
The fibres of the branches and the stem bark are used to make baskets.
The small twigs are used as toothbrushes.
The seeds contain about 10% of a non-drying, viscous oil, composed mainly of oleic, linoleic and stearic acids. This oil is not of commercial importance, but is sometimes used locally for purposes such as anointing the body.
The wood is fine-grained and hard. It is used for making small objects such as tent pegs and tool handles.
The wood is used for fuel.

Propagation

Seed - germinates best at temperatures around 25°c.
Because of their hard seedcoats, the seeds have to be pre-germinated before sowing. They are first steeped in water for 3 - 7 days, during which time the water is changed daily. They are then placed in small heaps and kept moist and warm for a few days. Care is taken to drain excess water. When the seedcoat has softened and the seed has started to swell, it is ready to be sown in a nursery. During the first days after sowing, the soil should be kept moist and daily irrigations are often required. When the plants are about 40cm tall they are lifted, cut back to about 15cm and transplanted.
Softwood cuttings root easily. Branches with 6 - 8 buds are used.
Hardwood cuttings root easily. Branches with 6 - 8 buds are used.
Layers.