The henna or al hinna (_Lawsonia inermis_) is found in great abundance
in Egypt, India, Persia and Arabia. In Bengal it goes by the name of
_Mindee_. It is much used here for garden hedges. Hindu females rub it
on the palms of their hands, the tips of their fingers and the soles of
their feet to give them a red dye. The same red dye has been observed
upon the nails of Egyptian mummies. In Egypt sprigs of henna are hawked
about the streets for sale with the cry of "_O, odours of Paradise; O,
flowers of the henna!_" Thomas Moore alludes to one of the uses of the
henna:--
Thus some bring leaves of henna to imbue
The fingers' ends of a bright roseate hue,
So bright, that in the mirror's depth they seem
Like tips of coral branches in the stream.