Mallow and Marshmallow

Mallow and marshmallow: knowing why to use them

Pythagoras revered mallow, a symbolic and sacred plant in his eyes, and in the Middle Ages, Charlemagne made its cultivation mandatory.
In the 16th century, it was considered a panacea, soothing inflammations of the mucous membranes and irritations of the digestive tract and lungs.

Mallow:

is a biennial plant with upright stems covered in hairs, which can reach one metre in height, with rounded and lobed leaves and magnificent flowers, pink, shaded with violet, veined with red.
The mallow flower contains mucilages, pectin and anthocyanins.

It is emollient, soothing, pectoral, anti-inflammatory and calming.
It works wonders against all inflammations and notably bronchitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis…

Marshmallow (Althea officinalis):

an emollient plant, enjoys a solid and ancient reputation.
In Greek, the word althaia means healing.
A common perennial herb in our regions, it grows near our homes, by the roadside or in fresh and damp fields.
Its stem can reach 1.5 m in height. Its leaves, composed of 5 lobes, heart-shaped, are well known.

Its large pink flowers are rich in mucilage, a true blessing for irritated throats and against cough.
The marshmallow flower also contains active ingredients beneficial to the respiratory tract: asparagine, betaine and sitosterol.
The marshmallow flower is emollient, which means it softens and soothes tissues.
It is also an expectorant (antitussive), calming, anti-inflammatory.

Mallow and marshmallow have offered us their wonderful colours since very ancient times and are established as major plants of the pharmacopoeia.