description
Althaea officinalis is a plant of the Malvaceae family. It has stems which
stand erect at 3-4 feet with only a few lateral branches, that die down in the fall.
The thick, roundish, ovate-cordate shaped leaves have short stalks that join to the plant's stem. They are 2-3 inches in length and about 1¼ inch
wide and are irregularly toothed at the margin. A dense covering of stellate hairs makes the leaves soft and velvety on both sides.
Although the flowers are shaped like those of the common mallow, they
are smaller, pale, and often grown in panicles (loose, branching clusters).
The flower's stamens are united into a tube, the anthers are
kidney-shaped and one-celled. Marshmallow blooms in the late summer (August and
September) and the flowers are followed, by the flat, round fruit which are often
called cheeses.
And so true Marshmallow is distinguished from other
Mallows by: 1) the numerous divisions of the outer calyx (six to nine cleft); 2) by
the hoary down which thickly clothes the stems and foliage; 2) and by the
numerous panicles of pale blush-colored flowers.
The perennial Marshmallow roots has long thick roots that taper at the end. They are very tough and pliant.
The roots are whitish yellow on the outside with a fibrous white interior. The whole plant,
the root in particular, abounds with mild mucilage. The mucilage is much more emollient than the mucilage of the common Mallow.
common names & nomenclature
Both the generic name Althaea and the family name are derived from Greek. Althaea from altho and Malvaceae from the Greek malake.
The common names with
marsh are in reference to the marsh habitats where the plant grows; whereas the
common name cheeses is a popular name for the plant's fruit.
Also known as:
marshmallow, marsh mallow, common marshmallow, mallards, moorish mallow, sweet weed, wymote, mortification root, cheeses, althea, schloss tea, white maoow, hock herb, mauls
