the.com/mallow
The plant whose roots once made marshmallows, before sugar and gelatin staged a hostile takeover.
means A soft-stemmed flowering plant of the genus Malva (and its relatives), known for mucilaginous roots and showy pink-to-purple blooms, historically used in food and folk medicine.
from From Old English 'mealwe', borrowed from Latin 'malva', the Romans' name for the plant — itself possibly a loan from a Mediterranean source, and likely a cousin of the Greek 'malache'. The Latin root travels widely: it gives us 'mauve' (the pale purple dye named for the mallow flower) and lurks inside 'marshmallow', literally the mallow that grows in marshes (Althaea officinalis), whose sweet root paste was the original confection.
- original recipe
- Ancient Egyptians whipped its sap into honeyed treats
- botanical clan
- Cousin to okra, cotton, and hibiscus
- edible everything
- Leaves, flowers, and roots are all eaten
- folk medicine
- Soothing mucilage calmed sore throats for centuries
- wild weed
- Common mallow thrives uninvited in sidewalks worldwide
marsh mallow — plant native to salt marshes of europe and western asia, historically used to make confections
common mallow — malva sylvestris, widespread weed across europe and north africa with purple-veined pink flowers
mallow family — malvaceae, includes cotton, okra, hibiscus, and cacao plants across tropical and temperate zones