A Mediterranean plant (Alkanna tinctoria) whose roots produce a red-purple dye used since ancient times for coloring textiles and cosmetics.
From Arabic al-hinnā (henna), referring to the similar dye-producing plant. Medieval European traders and herbalists adopted the Arabic name as they integrated the plant into European commerce.
Alkenna dye was the medieval answer to natural red—women applied it to cheeks and lips for centuries before synthetic dyes existed, essentially wearing the plant's roots as makeup.
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