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Althaea officinalis
| Common name: |
Marsh Mallow |
Family: |
Malvaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Central and southern Europe, including Britain, to N. Africa and W. Asia. |
| Habitat: |
The upper margins of salt and brackish marshes, sides of ditches and grassy banks near the sea[7, 17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
5 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 5 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| A. taurinensis[G]
Althea officinalis[Sn2]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Altea [E], Common Marsh-mallow [B], Common Marshmallow [P], Echte Heemst [D], Ghasul [E], Hatmi [E], Iviscus [E], Khatmah [E], Khitmi [E], Mallow,Wild [E], Malvavisco [E], Marsh Mallow [L], Marshmallow [H,E,S], Usubeni-Tati-Aoi [E], White Mallow [H], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
officinalis = sold as an herb
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Malvales. Mallow family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Britain(Wales)
Europe France Greece Iraq Peru Spain Turkey
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 1.2m by 0.75m . It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. self.
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 5/5 for edibility and
5/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Cultivated Beds.Edible Uses
Egg
Leaves Root Tea.
Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 4, 100]. They are used as a potherb or to
thicken soups[62, 183]. When used as a small proportion with other leaves,
the taste and texture is acceptable, but if a lot of the leaves are cooked
together their mucilaginous texture makes them unpalatable[K]. The leaves can
be eaten raw but are rather fibrous and somewhat hairy, though the taste is
mild and pleasant[K]. We have found them to be quite acceptable in salads
when chopped up finely[K].
Root - raw or cooked[61]. When boiled and then fried with onions it is said
to make a palatable dish that is often used in times of shortage[4]. The root
is used as a vegetable[62, 141, 183], it is also dried then ground into a
powder, made into a paste and roasted to make the sweet 'marshmallow'[4, 5,
7, 17, 61]. The root contains about 37% starch, 11% mucilage, 11%
pectin[254].
The water left over from cooking any part of the plant can be used as an
egg-white substitute in making meringues etc[62]. The water from the root is
the most effective[183], it is concentrated by boiling until it has a similar
consistency to egg white.
A tea is made from the flowers[183]. A tea can also be made from the
root[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Antitussive
Demulcent Diuretic Emollient Laxative Odontalgic.
Marsh mallow is a very useful household medicinal herb. Its soothing
demulcent properties make it very effective in treating inflammations and
irritations of the mucous membranes such as the alimentary canal, the urinary
and the respiratory organs[4, 254]. The root counters excess stomach acid,
peptic ulceration and gastritis[254]. It is also applied externally to
bruises, sprains, aching muscles, insect bites, skin inflammations, splinters
etc[4, 238].
The whole plant, but especially the root, is antitussive, demulcent,
diuretic, highly emollient, slightly laxative and odontalgic[4, 17, 21, 46,
165]. An infusion of the leaves is used to treat cystitis and frequent
urination[254]. The leaves are harvested in August when the plant is just
coming into flower and can be dried for later use[4]. The root can be used in
an ointment for treating boils and abscesses[254]. The root is best harvested
in the autumn, preferably from 2 year old plants, and is dried for later
use[238]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Adhesive
Fibre Oil Teeth.
The dried root is used as a toothbrush or is chewed by teething
children[6, 7]. It has a mechanical affect on the gums whilst also helping to
ease the pain. The root is also used as a cosmetic, helping to soften the
skin[7].
A fibre from the stem and roots is used in paper-making[46, 61, 74, 115].
The dried and powdered root has been used to bind the active ingredients
when making pills for medicinal use[268].
A glue can be made from the root[74]. The root is boiled in water until a
thick syrup is left in the pan, this syrup is used as a glue.
An oil from the seed is used in making paints and varnishes[74].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in almost any soil and situation[1, 4, 200], though it prefers
a rich moist soil in a sunny position[4, 200]. It also tolerates fairly dry
soil conditions[1].
Plants are hardy to about -25° c[187].
Marsh mallow is often cultivated in the herb garden, as a culinary and
medicinal herb as well as for ornament[61]. Its roots were at one time the
source of the sweet 'marsh mallow', but this sweet is now made without using
the plant[4].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring or autumn in a cold frame. The seed is best sown as
soon as it is ripe in late summer, the germination is often erratic[238].
Stratification can improve germination rates and time. Prick out the
seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant
them out in the summer[K].
Division in spring or autumn. Fairly easy, it is best to pot up the
divisions in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame or greenhouse until
they are growing away well and then plant them out into their permanent
positions.
Root cuttings in December.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
PFAF Web Pages
This plant is mentioned in the following web pages
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Althea officinalis (a possible synonym).
References for althaea officinalis (a possible synonym).
References for the family Malvaceae.
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.
[6] Mabey. R. Plants with a Purpose. Fontana 1979 ISBN 0-00-635555-2
Details on some of the useful wild plants of Britain. Poor on pictures but otherwise very good.
[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.
[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.
[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.
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Plant information taken from the
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