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 Althaea officinalis 001.JPG    Althea officinalis corimbo.jpg   

 

NAME:  Marsh Mallow

SPECIES / FAMILY:  Althaea Officinalis / Malvaceae

OTHER COMMON NAME(S): 

CONDITIONS:  sun, brackish (slightly salty) soil and water
 

PARTS:

EDIBLE cid:image001.jpg@01D3EC3E.A305A520

TASTE

RAW/COOK

SEASON

All

 

 

 

 

Shoots

 

 

 

 

Leaves

cid:image001.jpg@01D3EC3E.A305A520

mild/slimy

RAW/COOK

Summer/Fall

Buds/Flowers

cid:image001.jpg@01D3EC3E.A305A520 mild/slimy   Summer

Fruits

 

 

 

 

Roots

cid:image001.jpg@01D3EC3E.A305A520

sweet

DRY/COOK

Fall

Seeds

 

 

   

Nuts

 

 

 

 

Pods

 

 

 

 

Stalk

 

 

 

 

Bark

 

 

 

 

 

PORTION: medium

 

COMMENT:  Leaves mucilaginous, slightly fuzzy, best cooked and chopped up finely, use as soup thickener.  Root used as vegetable, also dried then ground into a powder, made into a paste and roasted to make the sweet 'marshmallow’. Root is high in starch, mucilage (slimy), and pectin. The water left over from cooking any part of the plant can be used as an egg-white substitute in making meringues etc. The water from the root is the most effective, it is concentrated by boiling until it has a similar consistency to egg white. A tea is made from the flowers. A tea can also be made from the root. (1)

 

CAUTION:

 

NUTRITION/MEDICINAL:  Antidiarrhoeal;  Antitussive;  Demulcent;  Diuretic;  Emollient;  Laxative;  Odontalgic. (1)

 

LOOK-A-LIKES:  

 

POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES: 

 

OTHER USES: Adhesive;  Fibre;  Oil;  Teeth. (1)

 

SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):

  1. https://pfaf.org/User/plant.aspx?LatinName=Althaea+officinalis
  2. http://www.eattheweeds.com/mallow-madness-the-false-roselle  (Hibiscus is a related species)
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althaea_officinalis
  4. http://www.foragingtexas.com/2009/06/mallow-marsh.html  (good photos)