Comments ⁶

Indigenous to Baluchistan and widely cultivated throughout the country for its fragrant flowers and orange-red dye obtained from macerated, triturated or powdered leaves. The dye is used for dyeing cloth and hair, for staining nails, palms and soles, and in medicine. Very variable.

Description ⁷

Fragrant shrub, up to 2.5 m tall. Leaves elliptic, ovate or obovate, acute, obtuse or subacuminate, 8-44 mm long, 2-20 mm broad. Panicles 3-22 cm long. Pedicels 2-3.5 mm long. Sepals ovate. Petals 3-4 mm long, 4-5 mm broad. Filaments 4 mm long. Capsules (3-)4-8(-9) mm in diameter, wall veined.

"Black henna" ⁸

"Black henna" powder may be derived from indigo (from the plant Indigofera tinctoria). It may also contain unlisted dyes and chemicals. "Black henna" may contain p-phenylenediamine (PPD), which can stain skin black quickly, but can cause severe allergic reactions and permanent scarring. The FDA specifically forbids PPD to be used for that purpose, and may prosecute those who produce "black henna." Artists who injure clients with "Black Henna" in the U.S. may be sued for damages.

The name "Black Henna" arose from imports of plant-based hair dyes into the West in the late 19th century. Partly fermented, dried indigo was called "black henna" because it could be used in combination with henna to dye hair black. This gave rise to the belief that there was such a thing as "black henna" which could dye skin black. Indigo will not dye skin black. Pictures of indigenous people with black body art (either alkalized henna or from some other source) also fed the belief that there was such a thing as "black henna."

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Tatters ❀, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/tgerus/13560605504/
2. (c) Joel Abroad, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/40295335@N00/5381658634/
3. (c) Joel Abroad, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/40295335@N00/5381659192/
4. (c) Samira, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/mink/5099803036/
5. (c) Patrik M. Loeff, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/bupia/2285979854/
6. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/4975051
7. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/4975052
8. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna

More Info

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• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
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