Althea Officinalis – I grew these plants by seed and LOVED seeing them grow–the bees adored them! I do recommend having something they can lean against. My plants were about 2 feet tall! Today, I harvested some of the roots. I’m dehydrating them to keep on hand.
Marshmallow leaf and root can be used for pain and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. The plant can also used for dry cough, inflammation of the lining of the stomach, stomach ulcers, constipation, urinary tract inflammation, and stones in the urinary tract. Because of it’s mucilaginous nature, the root can lessen excess stomach acid, peptic ulceration and gastritis. Marshmallow root is one of the ingredients in a cough syrup formula I make!
Marshmallow can also applied externally to bruises, sprains, aching muscles, insect bites, skin inflammations, splinters etc. I don’t use the herb a lot for these functions; I like to comfrey and plantain. But it is sure good to know, incase you don’t have the herb you want. Marshmallow leaves can be made into a tea to help with frequent urination. You can eat every part of this plant! The flowers have a light taste, but (to me) the leaves are bland and mushy (this is a highly technical term). I tested the younger leaves vs the older leaves — and the younger ones were not as “mushy.”
The “mushiness” is because the root and leaves contain starch, mucilage and pectin. The plant is also loaded with vitamins and minerals like: A, B1, B2, B3, B5, C, oxygen, calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. According to some sources, you could cook any part of the plant and use the leftover water as an egg-white substitute.
So you might notice a similar name to something that we use today on our s’mores. That’s right our Marshmallows were once made with this plant! The Egyptians were the first known “marshmallow” makers. They squeezed sap from the mallow plant and mixed it with nuts and honey. The French were introduced to marshmallow in the early to mid-1800s. The French marshmallows were made by mixing mallow root sap, egg whites and sugar into a fluffy mold. Everyone loved this “candy” so much they could not keep up with demand! A side note: Marshmallows today use gelatin.
