Marsh Mallow
Parts Usually Used
Dried root, dried leaves and dried flowers.
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
A densely velvety, gray-white perennial plant over 5 feet tall, with erect leafy stems and a thick taproot. The lower, 5-lobed, leaves are long-stalked and lobed, heart-shaped, upper ones folded like a fan. The pale pink (or mauvish) or white flowers grow on small clusters in leaf axils of upper leaves; they have velvety sepals, appear at the height of summer. Fruits are brown-green, downy nutlets.
Grown in full sun. Not heat tolerant. Not to be confused with High Mallow (M. ) or Common Mallow (M. neglecta Wallr).
Where Found
Found in salt marshes on the Atlantic coast, less commonly inland on damp, saline soils, in wet places. Also cultivated. Quebec to Virginia. Native to Europe.
Medicinal Properties
Tonic, nutritive, alterative, diuretic, demulcent, emollient, mucilaginous, vulnerary (heals wounds), laxative, inflammatory; flowers are expectorant
Biochemical Information
Starch, mucilage, pectin, oil, sugar, asparagin. tannin, polysaccharides, flavonoids, the leaves have salicylic and other phenolic acids.
Legends, Myths and Stories
Taking its botanical name from a Greek word, altho, meaning “to heal”, marshmallow has been used since Ancient Egyptian times. The root, rich in sugars, is very mucilaginous and softening for the tissues. The leaves are not as mucilaginous as the root and are used as an expectorant and as a soothing remedy for the urinary system. Both the leaves and the root have been used as a vegetable.
All members of the mallow family have similar properties, with varieties such as garden hollyhocks and common mallows occasionally used medicinally. King Charlemagne (AD 742-814) insisted that marsh mallow be planted throughout his kingdom to ensure an abundant supply. About 800 years after Charlemagne’s death, Culpeper wrote that his son suffered from a disease called the “bloody flux” which the College of Physicians back then called the plague in the guts.
” Two days later, his son was cured.
Uses
Historically, herbalists utilized marsh mallow for a variety of respiratory and digestive complaints. Traditional practitioners administered it for coughs, bronchitis, pleurisy, dryness or inflammation of the lungs, enteritis, colitis, diarrhea, and dysentery. It was also employed for urinary issues, including kidney gravel, the pain associated with kidney stones, and difficult or painful urination, as well as for rheumatism and conjunctivitis.
Preparations of the plant were used as a gargle for sore throats, laryngitis, and sore mouths. Externally, folk tradition recommended applying marsh mallow as a poultice to soothe burns, cuts, wounds, boils, skin eruptions, and bee stings.
Bibliography
, Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. , Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.
, Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.
copyright 1974. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , Copyright 1988, published 1992 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary , 15th Edition, F.
A. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). , West Nyack, NY, 1987. The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974 Country Home Book of Herbs , Meredith Books, Editorial Dept. RW240, 1716 Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50309-3023, copyright 1994 The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992 Become a Patron! Recent Posts Pumpkins Could Help Control Glycemic Levels for Diabetics Studies Show That Fermented Foods Build Healthy Gut Microbiome Recent Research Shows That Psilocybin Mushrooms May Be Effective in Treating Major, Prolonged Depression A Common Plant That Helps Fight MRSA and Repels Mosquitoes and Ticks Eating Peppers Could Hold the Key to Parkinson’s Prevention