Althaea officinalis

Althaea officinalis, themarsh mallowormarshmallow,is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used inherbalismand as anornamental plant. A confection made from the root sinceancient Egyptiantimes evolved into today'smarshmallowtreat,but most modern marshmallow treats no longer contain marsh-mallow root.
Thisherbaceousperennialgrows to 180 cm (6 ft) 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 100 mm (4 in) long, and 75 mm (3 in) wide. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stem, with no stipules, on petioles up to 45 mm (1.75 in).
Theinflorescencesoccur 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 purplestamensare united into a tube, the anthers kidney-shaped and one-celled. There is one style which protrudes above the stamen tube.
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 aschizocarp, about 1 cm in diameter, which splits into about 20 kidney-shaped mericarps (seeds) about 2 mm long.
Thecommon mallowis frequently called "marsh mallow" in colloquial terms, but the true marsh mallow is distinguished from all the other mallows growing inGreat Britainby the numerous divisions of the outercalyx(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 includealtheahexacosanyl lactone(n-hexacos-2-enyl-1,5-olide),2β-hydroxycalamene(altheacalamene) andaltheacoumarin glucoside(5,6-dihydroxycoumarin-5-dodecanoate-6β-D-glucopyranoside), along with the known phytoconstituentslauric acid,β-sitosterolandlanosterol.
Marshmallows are used in gardening as ornamental plants.
The leaves, flowers and the root ofA. officinalis(marshmallow) have been used intraditional herbal medicine. This use is reflected in the name of the genus, which comes from theGreekἀλθαίνειν(althainein), meaning "to heal".The Latinspecific epithetofficinalisindicates plants with some culinary or medicinal value.
Marshmallow is traditionally used as relief for irritation ofmucous membranes,including use as agarglefor mouth and throatulcersandgastric ulcers.
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 Alpinistated in 1592 that a plant of the mallow kind was eaten by theEgyptians. Many of the poorer inhabitants ofSyriasubsisted for weeks on herbs, of which marshmallow is one of the most common.When boiled first and fried withonionsandbutter, the roots are said to form a palatable dish.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.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 anegg whitesubstitute.
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