SPECIES:
Malva sylvestris

PARTS USED:
Flowers, leaves.

DESCRIPTION:
The Common or Blue Mallow is a robust plant 3 or 4 feet high, growing freely in field, hedgerows and on waste ground.

Its stem is round, thick and strong, the leaves stalked, roundish, five to seven lobed, downy, with stellate hairs and the veins prominent on the underside.The flowers are showy, bright mauve-purple, with dark veins. When they first expand in June, the plant is handsome, but as the summer advances, the leaves lose their deep green colour and the stems assume a ragged appearance. Cattle do not appear to be fond of this plant, every part of which abounds with a mild mucilage.

USES:
The roots are not considered of much value compared with those of the Marsh Mallow, and as a rule the leaves and flowers are used only, mainly externally in fomentations and poultices. The infusion has been a popular remedy for coughs and colds, but the internal use of the leaves has fallen into disuse, giving place to Marsh Mallow root, though they are still employed as a decoction for injection, which, made strong, cures strangury and gravel.

The foliage when boiled, forms a wholesome vegetable. The seeds, or 'cheeses,' are also edible.A tincture of the flowers, which turn blue in fading, forms a very delicate test for alkalis. The flowers were used formerly on May Day by country people for strewing before their doors and weaving into garlands.

The flowers are used in salads, and the leaves and young shoots containing vitamins A,B, and C are boiled as a vegetable. the leaves and roots are added to soothing skin ointments and cough syrups.

REMARK:
The leaves, flowers and roots soothe membranes, reduce inflammation, and are given for bronchitis and gastro-intestinal irritations.