lawsonia

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of polypetalous shrubs, consisting of a single species, L. inermis, the celebrated henna-plant of the East. See henna. The genus belongs to the natural order Lythrarieæ. or Lythraceæ, the loosestrife family, and to the tribe Lythreæ, being closely related to the crape-myrtle. (See Lagerstræmia.) It has a 4-parted calyx, 4 petals, 8 stamens, a globose 4-celled capsule bursting irregularly, opposite, short-petioled, ovate-lanceolate, entire leaves, and white flowers crowded in fascicles or short axillary corymbs. The plant is probably indigenous to northern Africa, Arabia, and the East Indies, but is cultivated and naturalized throughout the tropics. In England it is often called Egyptian privet, and in the West Indies it goes by the name of Jamaica, mignonette.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Bot.) An Asiatic and North African shrub (Lawsonia inermis), with smooth oval leaves, and fragrant white flowers. Henna is prepared from the leaves and twigs. In England the shrub is called Egyptian privet, and in the West Indies, Jamaica mignonette.