Henna

Henna or Iawsonia inermes is a plant from the Lythaiees family that grows in oasis in the Sahara desert. This small tree can reach a meter high, has green shiny leaves and also some other leaves with a bunch of four petals, white and very sweet smelling.

El ghaféky, has some very sweet smelling flowers called faghiya flowers. They look like small red grapes. It also has leaves that look like pepper plant. Henna oil comes from these flowers.

Hinna el madjoun or El madjoussy grows in the mountains has some different kind of leaves: from emerald green to grey green. When they come to maturity, they produce a woolly substance that looks like down, the seed itself is angular, the flower is small and purple.

Indigotier Razès and Henna elkoreiche or Ouesma have medicine leaves.

Maghreb henna has black seeds, white flowers sweet smeling like moss, its leaves are deeper green than olive trees.

Henna was used by Egyptians and Hebrews before the Islamic invasion. It has been discovered is some records that 1298, 1235 before J-C, that the mommy of Ramses II hair were coloured with henna. A few assyrians texts from the seventh century before J-C explain the wedding preparations like the fact that hands and nails were painted with henna. Women in China had their nails painted with henna as well, and in Vietnam women were using henna mixed with black colouring substances to lacquer their teeth, it was cheap.

Henna is collected in Morocco, in the area of Azzemour because the Stukas transplanted it from Souss. The smell of henna reminds reseda and nowadays in Cairo reseda is called tamr elhanna. In Africa it grows in Mali, Maghreb and Senegal. In Asia it grows in Occidental India, China, Iran and Perse.