Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
Plant · P-953
Henna
Lawsonia inermis
Henna is an evergreen shrub grown worldwide for the reddish-orange dye lawsone found in its leaves - the source of traditional henna body art hair dye and nail colouring. It needs full sun and a hot frost-free climate; without consistent heat the leaves fail to produce useful colour. Left unpruned it can grow into a small multi-stemmed tree but is most often kept as a clipped hedge. It tolerates poor stony soil and drought once established and needs little care beyond warmth and sun.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 10–12
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained · Moist
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 4.3–8
- Plant type
- Evergreen Tree
- Mature height
- 10–23 ft
- Mature spread
- 10–23 ft
- Plant spacing
- 6–12 ft
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
African Blue Basil
Ocimum kilimandscharicum
African Blue Basil is a sterile hybrid between camphor basil and the purple-leaved Dark Opal basil, propagated from cuttings rather than seed…
Shrub · USDA 10–11
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
American Beautyberry is an arching deciduous shrub of rich woods, moist thickets and swamp edges across the southeastern and south-central…
Shrub · USDA 6–10
Annatto
Bixa orellana
Annatto is a small tropical evergreen tree or shrub grown for the red-orange dye pigment bixin coating its seeds - the source of the food…
Shrub · USDA 10–12
Barbados Cherry
Malpighia emarginata
Barbados Cherry is an evergreen shrub that produces a small, bright red cherry-like fruit eaten fresh or cooked into juice, sauce, jelly, jam…
Shrub · USDA 9–11
Cactus Pad
Opuntia ficus-indica
Cactus pad, or nopal, is a paddle cactus grown for two crops off one plant: pads sliced and cooked like green beans, and a sweet, gelatinous…
Shrub · USDA 8–11
Calliandra
Calliandra houstoniana
Calliandra is a fast-growing, thornless, nitrogen-fixing shrub from Central America, grown throughout the humid tropics as a fodder hedge…
Shrub · USDA 10–12
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference