Marudhaani is Lawsonia inermis, henna — the shrub whose crushed leaves stain skin, hair and cloth a rust-orange. Hindi mehndi is the same leaf. “Black henna” that stains midnight-dark in an hour is usually not this plant. Lawsonia is not para-phenylenediamine.
- Botanical name
- Lawsonia inermis L.
- Family
- Lythraceae
- Tamil
- Marudhaani
- Hindi
- Mehndi
- Sanskrit
- Mendhikā
- Parts used
- Leaves, Sometimes flower
- Habit
- Shrub of dry tropics; the dye is the powdered leaf
- Last updated
- 2026-10-30
How to recognise Marudhaani
Linnaeus published Lawsonia inermis. The family is Lythraceae. It is a shrub with opposite leaves, small scented cream flowers, and a berry. The useful part in trade is the dried leaf, powdered.
Honest henna paste is khaki-green and smells of grass and tea. It stains slowly to orange-brown. A cone that dyes black in thirty minutes is a different chemistry, often PPD, and a dermatology problem.
Tamil marudhaani and Hindi mehndi are the ceremonial names. English henna is the same species. Indigo (Indigofera) is a different dye plant sometimes blended for darker hair.
Lawsone is the naphthoquinone that binds keratin. Leaf age, milling and whether the powder was leftover from last season all change the stain. A living shrub in a dry garden is the easy identification.
Kew accepts the species. A “henna” tattoo stall is not a botanical authority.
Fresh leaf mashed on a stone still stains. That home paste and a year-old export powder are the same species at different strengths. Scent and a test stain on the palm are more useful than a cone’s colour photograph.
Flowers are strongly scented at dusk. A shrub grown for perfume attar and a shrub grown for leaf can be the same Lawsonia; the article on the label should still say leaf or flower.
Traditional use of Marudhaani
South Asian ceremony
Mehndi on hands and feet is wedding and festival practice. That cultural use is the best-documented story.
Living ceremonial practice
Household and Unani / Ayurvedic lists
Leaf paste appears as a cooling and colouring article. Colouring skin is not a treatment claim.
Household and traditional headings
Modern notes on Marudhaani
Cosmetic regulation in several countries treats henna as a hair dye more cleanly than as a “tattoo” product. Body art sits in a greyer legal place; PPD “black henna” sits in a worse one.
It stains. That is enough.
Adulteration with metallic salts and with PPD is the practical modern harm, not a missing Latin name.
Hair dyes that list henna beside other dyes are blends. A blend is allowed if it is labelled. A cone that pretends to be only Lawsonia and goes black is the problem.
Marudhaani safety
Leaf paste on intact skin is the ordinary ceremonial exposure. People do get allergic to Lawsonia itself, though PPD reactions are the better-known emergency.
Do not use “black henna” cones on children. Do not put henna paste on broken skin as a folk dressing.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is a documented caution for henna in some paediatric case reports. That is a reason not to slather infants.
Ecology and sourcing
The shrub is planted in dry gardens and as a hedge. Leaf harvest does not kill a managed bush.
Related plants
Also in Lythraceae
Questions about Marudhaani
Is black henna Marudhaani plant?
Honest henna (Lawsonia) stains orange-brown. Cones that go black fast are usually a different chemical, often PPD.
What is the Tamil name of Lawsonia inermis?
Marudhaani.
Sources
- Lawsonia inermis L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q182448 (Lawsonia inermis)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.