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Malva verticillata

Common name: Chinese Mallow Family: Malvaceae
Author: L. Botanical references: 74, 200
Synonyms:  
Known Hazards: When grown on nitrogen rich soils (and particularly when these are cultivated inorganically), the plant tends to concentrate high levels of nitrates in its leaves[76]. The leaves are perfectly wholesome at all other times.
Range: E. Asia. A casual, occasionally established in Britain.
Habitat: On plains and in arable fields[74, 266].
Edibility Rating (1-5): 4Medicinal Rating (1-5):2

Other Common Names:From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
Cluster Mallow [P], Curled Mallow [H,L], Huyu-Aoi [E], K'Uei [E], Large-whorl Mallow [B],
Systematics:From a USDA Plants Database
Order: Malvales. Mallow family
Other Range Info: From the Ethnobotany Database
China; Indochina

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Biennial growing to 1.8m. It is hardy to zone 6 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 Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Cultivar 'Crispa': Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Seed.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 51, 61, 100, 183]. The leaves of well-grown plants can be 15cm or more across. They have a mild and very pleasant flavour that makes an excellent addition to salads[K]. We use them as a tasty alternative to the lettuce[K].
Young seeds - raw or cooked. Used when green and immature[85]. A pleasant nutty taste but the seed is too small and fiddly for most people to want to harvest[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Demulcent; Digestive; Diuretic; Emollient; Galactogogue; Laxative.

The seed contains mucilage, polysaccharides and flavonoids[279]. It is demulcent, diuretic, emollient, galactogogue and laxative[147, 176, 218]. The seeds are used in Tibetan medicine, where they are considered to have a sweet and astringent taste plus a heating potency[241]. They are used in the treatment of renal disorders, the retention of fluids, frequent thirst and diarrhoea[241].
The root is used to cause vomiting in the treatment of whooping cough[240].
The leaves and stems are said to be digestive[240]. They are given to women in the advanced stages of pregnancy[240].

Other Uses

Dye.

Cream, yellow and green dyes can be obtained from the plant and the seed heads[168].

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, succeeding in ordinary garden soil[1], though it prefers a reasonably well-drained and moderately fertile soil in a sunny position[200].
This species is cultivated as a salad crop in parts of Europe[17, 50, 51]. There is at least one named variety:- 'Crispa' has more tender leaves than the species with curled leaf edges that make it look more attractive in salads. This species was one of the earliest domesticated crops in China, it has been in cultivation for well over 2,500 years[183].
Plants seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].
Plants are prone to infestation by rust fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in situ. Germination should take place within 2 weeks.

Cultivars

'Crispa'
Cultivated as a salad crop int he Mediterranean. At one time accepted as a seperate species, it is now considered to be a form of M. verticillata that has been selected as a salad plant. Prone to infestation by rust fungus.

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

References for malva verticillata (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.

References

[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.

[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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[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.

[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.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[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.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese 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.

[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.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[241] Tsarong. Tsewang. J. Tibetan Medicinal Plants Tibetan Medical Publications, India 1994 ISBN 81-900489-0-2
A nice little pocket guide to the subject with photographs of 95 species and brief comments on their uses.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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