Content:
- Introduction
- Characteristics
- Natural History
- Evolution
- Use
- Tips to grow Henna plant
Alternative Title: Lawsonia inermis
Henna, Tropical shrub or small tree (Lawsonia inermis) of the loosestrifefamily, native to northern Africa, Asia, and Australia, and the reddish-brown dye obtained from its leaves. The plant bears small opposite leaves and small, fragrant, white to red flowers. In addition to being grown for its dye, it is used as an ornamental.
Characteristics
Lawsonia inermis, of the family Lythraceae and native to northeastern Africa, is the henna of commerce, yielding an orange-red dye that has been used for centuries in the Middle East and East Asia for colouring the hair, fingernails, and soles of the feet. The leaves contain a substance that reacts directly with the keratin of human hair and skin to form the bright pigment. Chemically altered henna is now used as the base for a wide array of hair colorants. Tannins for tanning hides are extracted from the bark and foliage of the Australian Eucalyptus astringens and from the fruits (myrobalans) of Terminalia chebula.
Lagerstroemia indica (crepe myrtle), from family Lythraceae, originating in tropical Asia and Australia, is a popular garden shrub or tree widely cultivated for its beautiful pink, purple, or white flowers arranged into panicles and for its smooth gray bark. Species of Quisqualis and Terminalia catappa (Indian almond), the former a liana and the latter a tree, are also cultivated in the tropics.
Other horticulturally important plants in Myrtales include species of Eucalyptus, myrtle, Chamaelaucium unicatum (Geraldton waxflower), Callistemon (bottlebrush), Feijoa, and several horticultural hybrids of Leptospermum.
Eucalyptus has six subgroups that are derived from six different bark types: peppermints, with fibrous bark; stringbarks, with stringlike fibrous bark; boxes, with rough bark; bloodwoods, with rough scaly bark; gums, with smooth bark; and ironbarks, with hard bark.
Melastomataceae contains Tibouchina organensis (glory bush), with its striking purple to violet flowers and purple anthers, often cultivated outdoors in the southeastern United States and elsewhere in the warm tropics. Some of the more beautiful greenhouse plants of Melastomataceae are Medinilla magnifica, whose purple flowers are arranged in pendulous panicles up to one foot long and subtended by pink bracts 2.5–10 cm (1–4 inches) long, and various species of Bertolonia, Monolena, and Sonerila, which are cultivated for their interesting foliage.
Herbaceous annuals or perennials of Onagraceae, such as those found in Oenothera (evening primroses), are popular cultivated ornamentals in which the scented flowers open in the evening. Another ornamental in the family is Clarkia amoena(Godetia). The shrubby Fuchsia is a cultivated plant familiar throughout the world for its showy flowers in delicate, usually pendulous inflorescences. The flowers generally are in shades of red and purple, with some parts white. The calyx tube (hypanthium) is bell-shaped to tubular and prolonged beyond the ovary. The four calyx lobes remain free and spreading; in some species the petals are lost.
Natural History
In general, the flowers of Myrtales are adapted for pollination by animals, because they frequently provide abundant nectar or pollen and are shaped so as to facilitate pollen deposition on the stigma while the animals forage on these foods. A highly specialized mechanism for promoting outcrossing is widespread in Lythraceae, where members of Lythrum, Decodon (swamp loosestrife), and Nesaea have three flower forms on different plants (trimorphism); plants with two flower forms (dimorphic) are known in Rotala (toothcup) and in Lythrum. As such, the style and stamens of a flower differ in length, and the pollen of the different stamen whorls differ in size and chemical characteristics, as do the stigmatic papillae. Only pollinations between anthers and stigmas of the same height (necessarily from different plants) result in the production of seed. The pollen from the different anther levels is carried on different places on the bees and butterflies that visit the flowers for the nectar and thus effect the obligate cross-pollination. Although Lythraceae flowers normally open when mature, the opposite condition, of mature flowers remaining closed (cleistogamy), occurs in Ammannia and is thought to occur in the apetalous species of Rotala, Lythrum, and Nesaea.
Most species of Combretaceae are pollinated by insects, although some are pollinated by birds. This is also true of the Onagraceae family—e.g., Fuchsia and some evening primroses and Epilobium (willow herbs) species are bird-pollinated. In addition, some species of Epilobiumhave many small-flowered largely self-pollinated species. The transfer of pollen in Myrtaceae is usually accomplished by insects, chiefly bees, and to a lesser extent by moths and butterflies. Some species of Eucalyptus and Metrosideros are visited for nectar and pollinated by birds, especially honey eaters. Memecylaceae and most Melastomataceae species have nectarless flowers adapted to pollination by pollen-collecting bees. In many members of Melastomataceae, the stamens bear conspicuous, often yellow appendages and may be of two lengths or different colours; it is not clear whether these elaborations have a function in the pollination mechanism beyond that of enhancing the visual attractiveness of the flowers and making the stamens easier for the bees to grasp. Some 80 species in perhaps 11 genera of the family Melastomataceae offer nectar as a reward to pollinators; they are pollinated by hummingbirds, bats, and rodents, as well as by bees and wasps. Flowers of Trapa (family Trapaceae) are predominantly self-pollinated, and those of the other small families of the order are pollinated by birds (some Penaeaceae) or insects (Alzateaceae, Crypteroniaceae, and Rhynchocalycaceae). Sonneratia is pollinated by bats and hawk moths. The pollinating mechanisms of Oliniaceae are not completely known.
Seed dispersal in the order is by wind, water, or animals, depending on whether the fruits are dry and capsular or fleshy—both types often occur within the same family. Melastomataceae and Myrtaceae berries, particularly those from underlying low-growth vegetation in forests, are important food for birds; their seeds are viable after passing through the gut. Seeds of many members of Lythraceae and Combretaceae are well suited to water dispersal by means of winglike expansions of the seed coat or by buoyant airy tissues on the outer seed coat. Some seeds of Terminalia(family Combretaceae) are able to float for several months in seawater without adverse effects on germination.
In some members of Melastomataceae, such as Maieta, Tococa, and certain Clidemia, the leaf bases develop saclike outgrowths that serve as shelters for ants, which enter them through two small holes on the lower surface. The ants protect the leaves from herbivores such as caterpillars, which they kill or drive away.
Evolution
Among fossil flowers and fruits fromú the Maastrichtian Stage (70.6 to 65.5 million years ago) of the late Cretaceous Period, Myrtales species are especially well represented, and pollen of the Myrtaceae family has been reported from the Santonian Stage (85.8 to 83.5 million years ago). Even aquatic plants in the order, such as Decodon (family Lythraceae), are represented among fossils from late in the Paleocene Epoch (65.5 to 55.8 million years ago) of the Paleogene Period. Thus, the families of Myrtales, as they are now defined, were probably all in existence by Tertiary times, and their common ancestors existed in Gondwanabefore the separation of South America from Africa during the Jurassic Period (199.6 to 145.5 million years ago).
Molecular information has yet to convincingly identify close relatives of Myrtales within the Rosids, but DNA sequence analyses suggest that the order may be closest to Sapindales, Brassicales, and Malvalesin the Rosid II group. Myrtales is composed of two major lineages. The first includes Combretaceae, Lythraceae, and Onagraceae, and the second contains the remaining eight families. Lythraceae and Onagraceae are particularly closely related in the first lineage. Within the second lineage, the large tropical families Myrtaceae and Melastomataceae, with related smaller families, form two separate evolutionary lines. A cluster of five small families, Alzateaceae, Oliniaceae, Penaeaceae, Rhynchocalycaceae, and Crypteroniaceae, forms a closely related assemblage near Melastomataceae and Memecylaceae. Of these five, the three African families—Oliniaceae, Penaeaceae, Rhynchocalycaceae—are closely related. Two other African families, Heteropyxidaceae and Psiloxylaceae, also form a closely related assemblage but near Myrtaceae and Vochysiaceae.
Uses of the Henna plant
Henna has been used since the Bronze Age to dye skin (including body art), hair, fingernails, leather, silk and wool. In several parts of the world it is traditionally used in various festivals and celebrations. There is mention of henna as a hair dye in Indian court records around 400CE,[2] in Rome during the Roman Empire, and in Spain during Convivencia.[3] It was listed in the medical texts of the Ebers Papyrus (16th c BCE Egypt)[4] and by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (14th c CE (Syria and Egypt) as a medicinal herb.[5] In Morocco, wool is dyed and ornamented with henna, as are drumheads and other leather goods
Muslims also use henna as a dye for their hair and for the beards of males--following the tradition of their Prophet Muhammad, who used to dye his beard with henna. It's considered a "sunnah" and akin to something fortunate/good. In one narration by him, he encouraged Muslim women to dye their nails with henna so their hands can be distinguished as feminine & from the hands of a male. Hence you will see this tradition greatly in the Middle East and Africa where women apply henna to their finger and toe nails, as well as their hands[citation needed].
'Mehndi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā.[6] The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books. Haldi(Staining oneself with turmeric paste) as well as mehndi are important Vedic customs as a symbolic representation of the Outer and the Inner Sun[citation needed]. Vedic customs are meant to awaken the "inner light" and so the gold of the inner Sun has an important symbolic function[citation needed].
Traditional mehndi designs draw the sun on the palm, which in this context represents the mind. Mehndi decorations became fashionable in the West in the late 1990s, where they are sometimes called henna tattoos. Henna is typically applied during special occasions like weddings and Hindu festivals like Karva Chauth, Diwali, Bhaidooj and Teej. In some Hindu festivals, every woman tries to have Henna done on her hands and feet. It is usually drawn on the palms and feet, where the color will be darkest because the skin contains higher levels of keratin which binds temporarily to lawsone, the colorant of henna. Henna was originally used as a form of decoration mainly for brides.
Various uses have been reported for different parts of the Henna plant[1]:
| Root | Leprosy, skin diseases, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea and premature greying of hair |
|---|---|
| Leaves | Diuretic, expectorant, anti-inflammatory, liver tonic, haematinic, wound, ulcers, cough, bronchitis, burning sensation, diarrhoea, dysentery, leprosy, leucoderma, scabies, boils, anemia, hemorrhages, amenorrhoea, falling of hair, greyness of hair, jaundice |
| Flowers | Burning sensation, cardiopathy, amentia, insomnia, fever |
| Seeds | Intellect promoting, constipating, intermittent fevers, insanity, amentia, diarrhoea, dysentery and gastropathy |
The primary active ingredient of Henna which gives it its color is the compound
Tips To Grow Henna Plant At Home
Henna, Lawsonia inermis, is a small desert tree. But, you can grow the henna plant in your home as well. It is generally an outdoor plant. If you prefer to keep it indoors, then make sure that you place it where there is direct sunlight falling on the plant. This is because the henna plant grows well in hot climate.
If you are interested in growing henna plant in your home garden, then check out these steps which will make your task easier. Plant it outdoors: Even though you may grow henna plant indoors with the assurance of direct sunlight, it is always preferred to grow it outdoors. This is because henna plants grow better in hot climates. The minimum temperature needed for a henna plant to grow and nourish well is 22ºC.
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