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FOODIES' HOME PAGE
PLANT PROFILE LIST
NAME: Marsh Mallow
SPECIES / FAMILY: Althaea Officinalis / Malvaceae
OTHER COMMON NAME(S):
CONDITIONS: sun,
brackish (slightly salty) soil and water
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PARTS: |
EDIBLE |
TASTE |
RAW/COOK |
SEASON |
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All |
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Shoots |
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Leaves |
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mild/slimy |
RAW/COOK |
Summer/Fall |
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Buds/Flowers |
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mild/slimy | Summer | |
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Fruits |
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Roots |
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sweet |
DRY/COOK |
Fall |
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Seeds |
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Nuts |
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Pods |
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Stalk |
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Bark |
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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):