High Mallow

Scientific Names

Malva sylvestris L.
Malvaceae
Mallow family

Common Names

Cheeseflower
Common mallow
Country mallow
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture

High mallow is an annual or perennial; the tapering, whitish root produces a round stem, 2 to 3 feet high, with alternate, light green, downy leaves which are 5 to 7 lobed. The pink or purple axillary flowers have 5 narrow petals and appear from May to October.

Another variety: Low mallow (M. rotundifolia) is used the same as high mallow.
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Where Found

Found in waste places, rubbish dumps, fields, and along fences and roadsides, as well as cultivated. In Europe, Canada, and Mexico. Native of Europe, naturalized to North America.
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Medicinal Properties

Astringent, demulcent, emollient, expectorant, cathartic
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Biochemical Information

Mucilage, vitamin C, sugar, minerals, keratin, and coloring matter
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Legends, Myths and Stories

Pliny wrote, “anyone taking a spoonful of mallows will be free of disease.”

The Chinese eat the leaves raw in salads or boiled like spinach.
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Uses

Makes a good demulcent tea (soothing the mucus membranes) for coughs, hoarseness, bronchitis, inflammation of the larynx and tonsils, colds, laryngitis, emphysema, lung catarrh, gastritis, ague, laxative, dyspepsia, cystitis, and inflammation of the colon. Externally, a decoction can be used to wash wounds and sores. Make a poultice of the herb to soothe irritations and inflammations. A warm enema made from the leaves is helpful for intestinal inflammation.
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Formulas or Dosages

Use the fresh plant only.

Infusion: add 1 to 2 tsp. herb to 1/2 cup cold water. Let stand for 8 hours, then warm up to lukewarm. (Do not boil or steep the herb in boiling water). Drink 1 to 2 cups daily.

Decoction: For external use, boil 1 tbsp. herb in 1/2 cup water for a short time.
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Nutrient Content

Sugar, minerals, vitamin C, keratin
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Bibliography

Herbal Gardening, compiled by The Robison York State Herb Garden, Cornell Plantations, Matthaei Botanical Gardens of the University of Michigan, University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley., Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition

American Folk Medicine, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973

Culpeper's Complete Herbal & English Physician, by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814)

Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000

The Nature Doctor, by Dr. H.C.A. Vogel; Keats Publishing, Inc., 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991