Althaea officinalis

This herbaceous perennial grows to {{convert|6|ft|cm|-1|order=flip|abbr=on}} tall and puts out only a few lateral branches. The whole plant is softly stellate-hairy, especially the leaves, which are broadly triangular to oval, often with 3-5 shallow lobes, irregularly toothed, with cordate to cuneate bases. Leaf size varies considerably, up to {{convert|4|in|mm|round=5|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, and {{convert|3|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on|round=5}} wide. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stem, with no stipules, on petioles up to {{convert|1.75|in|mm|round=5|order=flip|abbr=on}}.{{cite book |last1=Harrap |first1=Simon |title=Harrap's Wild Flowers |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Wildlife |location=London|isbn=978-1-4729-6648-3}}{{cite book |last1=Poland |first1=John |last2=Clement |first2=Eric |title=The Vegetative Key to the British Flora |date=2009 |publisher=John Poland |location=Southampton |isbn=978-0-9560144-0-5}}

The inflorescences occur in the leaf axils and at the top of the stem and consist of panicles of 1-many flowers. The flowers are actinomorphic with 5 lilac/pink petals up to 2 cm long and 5 green sepals which are much shorter than the petals, and fused at the base. Below the petals is a cup-shaped epicalyx with 6-9 narrow, triangular lobes, half the length of the sepals. The purple stamens are united into a tube, the anthers kidney-shaped and one-celled. There is one style which protrudes above the stamen tube.{{cite book |last1=Stace |first1=C.A. |title=New Flora of the British Isles |date=2019 |publisher=C & M Floristics | location=Suffolk |isbn=978-1-5272-2630-2}}{{Cite book | last=Crawford | first=Martin | date=2012 | title=How to Grow Perennial Vegetables: Low-maintenance, low-impact vegetable gardening | publisher = Green Books | isbn=978-1900322843}}

The flowers are in bloom during August and September, and are followed, as in other species of this order, by the flat, round fruit which are popularly called "cheeses". The whole fruit is a schizocarp, about 1 cm in diameter, which splits into about 20 kidney-shaped mericarps (seeds) about 2 mm long.

The common mallow is frequently called "marsh mallow" in colloquial terms, but the true marsh mallow is distinguished from all the other mallows growing in Great Britain by the numerous divisions of the outer calyx (six to nine cleft), by the hoary down which thickly clothes the stems and foliage, and by the numerous panicles of blush-coloured flowers, paler than the common mallow. The roots are perennial, thick, long and tapering, very tough and pliant, whitish yellow outside, white and fibrous within.

Chemical constituents include altheahexacosanyl lactone (n-hexacos-2-enyl-1,5-olide), 2β-hydroxycalamene (altheacalamene) and altheacoumarin glucoside (5,6-dihydroxycoumarin-5-dodecanoate-6β-D-glucopyranoside), along with the known phytoconstituents lauric acid, β-sitosterol and lanosterol.{{cite journal|author1=Rani, S.|author2=Khan, S.A.|author3=Ali, M.|year=2010|title=Phytochemical investigation of the seeds of Althea officinalis L|journal=Natural Product Research|volume=24|issue=14|pages=1358–1364|doi=10.1080/14786411003650777|pmid=20803381|s2cid=2114777}}

Marshmallows are used in gardening as ornamental plants.

File:Arrels malvi12.JPG

The leaves, flowers and the root of A. officinalis (marshmallow) have been used in traditional herbal medicine. This use is reflected in the name of the genus, which comes from the Greek {{lang|grc|ἀλθαίνειν}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|althainein}}), meaning "to heal".{{cite book |title=Simon & Schuster's Guide to Herbs and Spices |editor=Stanley Schuler |isbn=0-671-73489-X |first=Gualtiero |last=Simonetti |year=1990 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/simonschustersgu0000simo }}{{LSJ|a)lqai/nw|ἀλθαίνειν|ref}}.{{OEtymD|marshmallow}} The Latin specific epithet officinalis indicates plants with some culinary or medicinal value.{{cite book | last=Harrison |first=Lorraine | title=RHS Latin for Gardeners | year=2012 |publisher=Mitchell Beazley | location=United Kingdom | isbn=978-1845337315 }}

Marshmallow is traditionally used as relief for irritation of mucous membranes,{{cite journal |last1=Cavero |first1=R |title=Medicinal plants used for respiratory affections in Navarra and their pharmacological validation |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=2 December 2014 |volume=158 |issue=Part A |pages=216–220 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2014.10.003 |pmid=25311273}} including use as a gargle for mouth and throat ulcers and gastric ulcers.{{Cite web |url=http://research.rmutp.ac.th/paper/cu/Herbal%20Therapy.pdf |title=John S. Williamson & Christy M. Wyandt 1997. Herbal therapies: The facts and the fiction. Drug topics |access-date=2011-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402132117/http://research.rmutp.ac.th/paper/cu/Herbal%20Therapy.pdf |archive-date=2012-04-02 |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |last1=Buso |first1=Piergiacomo |last2=Manfredini |first2=Stefano |last3=Reza Ahmadi-Ashtiani |first3=Hamid |last4=Sciabica |first4=Sabrina |last5=Buzzi |first5=Raissa |last6=Vertuani |first6=Silvia |last7=Baldisserotto |first7=Anna |title=Iranian Medicinal Plants: From Ethnomedicine to Actual Studies |journal=Medicina |date=26 February 2020 |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=5 |doi=10.3390/medicina56030097|doi-access=free |pmid=32110920 |pmc=7143749 }}

Most of the mallows have been used as food, and are mentioned by early classic writers with this connection. Mallow was an edible vegetable among the Romans; a dish of marsh mallow was one of their delicacies. Prospero Alpini stated in 1592 that a plant of the mallow kind was eaten by the Egyptians. Many of the poorer inhabitants of Syria subsisted for weeks on herbs, of which marshmallow is one of the most common.{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}} When boiled first and fried with onions and butter, the roots are said to form a palatable dish.Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 {{ISBN|0-14-046-440-9}}{{Full citation needed|date=December 2024}} In times of scarcity consequent upon the failure of the crops, this plant, which grows in Syria in great abundance, is collected heavily as a foodstuff.

The young leaves can be cooked. The flower buds can be pickled.{{Cite book|last1=Elias|first1=Thomas S.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244766414|title=Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods|last2=Dykeman|first2=Peter A.|publisher=Sterling|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4027-6715-9|location=New York|pages=146|oclc=244766414|orig-year=1982}} The roots can be peeled, sliced, boiled and sweetened to make candy. Water used to boil any part of the plant can be used as an egg white substitute.{{clear}}

File:Althaea officinalis sl32.jpg|Typically upright and somewhat broad (Austria)

File:Echter eibisch Roscheiderhof H2.jpg|Very tall narrow example (?Germany)

File:Althaea officinalis . Marsh Mallow - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg|Typical appearance in flower, closer, showing pale clustered flowers with purple centres (England)

Althaea officinalis (common marsh-mallow), Guilford, CT (42861186434).jpg|Inflorescence, showing pale clustered flowers with purple centres and velvetty, shallow-lobed toothy leaves with recessed veins and (if zoomed) soft-haired stem

File:Althaea officinalis JRVdH 02.jpg|Flower cluster showing purple anthers and stigmas (Canada)

File:Althaea.officinalis.11.jpg|Filaments join into a column, showing purple anthers and (when zoomed) purple pollen spheres (?Germany)

File:Marsh Mallow Althaea officinalis (6171430693).jpg|Flowers, showing purple anthers when unopened (England)

File:Althaea officinalis (common marsh-mallow), Guilford, CT (42861186434).jpg|Unopened flower buds from side, showing epicalyces at bud (calyx) bases and velvetty plant stem (England)

File:Althea officinalis corimbo.jpg|Unopened flower buds from above, showing tips of epicalyces that are at bud (calyx) base

File:Althaea officinalis 2019-12-13 5769.jpg|Fruits, showing hairs on smooth fruit surface

File:Althaea_officinalis_2019-12-13_5770.jpg|Fruits, showing a cluster

File:Althaea officinalis habitus.jpeg|Velvetty leaves (Germany)

File:Althaea_officinalis_sl12.jpg|Leaf, velvetty (here slightly)

{{Reflist}}

{{cite journal|last1=Cavero|first1=R|title=Medicinal plants used for respiratory affections in Navarra and their pharmacological validation|journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology|date=December 2, 2014|volume=158|issue=Part A|pages=216–220|doi=10.1016/j.jep.2014.10.003|pmid=25311273}}

{{Commons}}

• {{PFAF|Althaea officinalis}}
• [http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/althaeaoffi.html Connecticut Botanical Society: Althaea officinalis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204221353/http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/althaeaoffi.html |date=2012-02-04 }}
• [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mallow07.html Botanical.com: Mallows including Althaea officinalis]

{{Medicinal herbs & fungi}}

{{taxonbar|from=Q158496}}

Category:Malveae

Category:Flora of Europe

Category:Flora of temperate Asia

Category:Medicinal plants of Africa

Category:Demulcents

Category:Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine

Category:Plants described in 1753

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Saponaceous plants