Properties:
Anti-inflammatory, Antibacterial, Breath, Demulcent, Emollient, Hypoglycemic
 
Medicinal Uses:
Bladder Infection (UTI), Bronchitis, Burns, Gastritis/Ulcer, Nausea, Pet, Sore Throat
 
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.


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.