Herbs & Herbal Remedies @ Green Papaya

Confection with Healing Roots

Family: Malvaceae; (includes Cotton, Hollyhock, Hibiscus)

Genus and Species: Althaea officinalis

Also known as: Althea, Cheeses

Parts used: Roots; sometimes leaves and flowers

Yes, this plant inspired the pillowy white confection we toast over camp fires. But today’s marshmallows contain none of their namesake herb and bear no resemblance to the marsh mallow sweets of old. It’s a shame so few people know this herb as anything other than a candy, because marsh mallow has been widely used in Healing for 2,500 years.

Food for Famines

Marsh mallow was a food before it was a medicine. The Book of Job (30:4) mentions a plant (translated as mallow or broom) that was eaten during famines. And during the Middle Ages when crops failed, people boiled marsh mallow roots, then fried them with onions in butter. Backpacking guides suggest the plant for wilderness foragers today.

The plant’s history as a healer goes back to Hippocrates, who prescribed a decoction of marsh mallow roots to treat bruises and blood loss from wounds. Four hundred years later, the Greek physician Dioscorides recommended marsh mallow root poultices for insect bites and stings and prescribed the decoction for toothache and vomiting and as an antidote to poisons.

The Romans loved marsh mallow. The Roman naturalist Pliny wrote, “Whosoever shall take a spoonful of the mallows shall that day be free from all diseases.”

Tenth-century Arab physicians used mallow leaf poultices to treat inflammations, and early European folk healers used marsh mallow root both internally and externally for its soothing action in treating toothache, sore throat, digestive upsets, and urinary irritation.

Special Blessings

Marsh mallow was a special favorite of 17th-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper: “You may remember that not long since, there was a raging disease called the bloody flux … the college of physicians not knowing whatto make of it. My son was taken with I it] and … the only thing I gave him was mallows bruised and boiled in milk and drunk. In two days (the blessing of God be upon it) it cured him. And I here, to show my thankfulness to God in communicating it to his creatures, leave it to posterity.”

Culpeper recommended marsh mallow roots, leaves, and seeds for their soothing action in “agues I fever] … torments of the belly … pleurisy, phthisis I tuberculosis L and other diseases of the chest … coughs, hoarseness … shortness of breath, wheezing, cramps … and swellings in women’s breasts …. and other offensive humors.”

The colonists introduced marsh mallow into North America, and by the mid-19th century, it was included in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia. The Eclectics prescribed it externally for “wounds, bruises, burns, scalds, and swellings of every kind.” Internally, they recommended the root decoction for colds, hoarseness, diarrhea, gonorrhea, gastrointestinal problems, and “nearly every affection of the kidney and bladder.”

Contemporary herbalists generally limit their marsh mallow recommendations to respiratory and gastrointestinal irritation. Some tout it for urinary complaints.

Thank the French for the spongy confection that bears this herb’s name. They first candied marsh mallow roots centuries ago. They peeled the root bark, exposing the white pulp, and boiled it to soften it and release its sweetness. Then they added sugar. The result: sweet, white, somewhat spongy sticks, which over time evolved into today’s camp fire treat.

The spongy Material in marsh mallow roots is called mucilage. When it comes in contact with water, it swells and forms a gel.

Cuts and Wounds - Externally, marsh mallow gel may help soothe cuts, scrapes, wounds, and burns.

Respiratory Woes - Taken internally, it may help relieve upset stomach and the respiratory rawness associated with sore throat, cough, colds, flu, and bronchitis.

Immune System - In one recent experiment, marsh mallow enhanced white blood cells’ ability to devour disease microbes (phagocytosis), suggesting that its traditional use in wound treatment and gastrointestinal infections may have been therapeutic as well as soothing.

Intriguing Possibility - One animal study indicated the root reduces blood sugar (glucose), suggesting possible value in managing diabetes.

Rx for Marsh Mallow

Enjoya sweet decoction to take advantage of marsh mallow’s soothing potential and possible infection-fighting abilities.

To make a decoction, gently boil] h to 1 teaspoon of chopped or crushed root per cup of water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drink up to 3 cups a day.

To prepare marsh mallow for external use, chop the root very fine and add enough water to make a gooey gel. Apply the gel directly to superficial wounds or sunburn. If you have a serious wound or sunburn, see your physician to obtain advice regarding treatment.

Low-strength marsh mallow decoctions may be given cautiously to children under age 2.

The medical literature contains no reports of any harm from marsh mallow.

For otherwise healthy non-pregnant. non-nursing adults, marsh mallow is considered safe in amounts typically recommended.

Marsh mallow should be used in medicinal amounts only in consultation with your doctor. If marsh mallow causes minor discomforts, such as stomach upset or diarrhea, use less or stop using it. Let your doctor know if you experience unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.

Found in Bogs

Marsh mallow grows, not surprisingly, in marshes, bogs, damp meadows, and along stream banks The plant is a downy, erect. 5-foot perennial with a long taproot. The stems, which die back each autumn, are hairy and branching. The roundish, gray-green leaves, I to 3 inches long, are lobed, toothed, and covered with velvety hairs. The flowers, pink or white, bloom in summer. They are up to 2 inches across and give rise to round fruits called “cheeses,” one of the herb’s names.

In moist soil under full sun, marsh mallow is a hardy plant that grows easily from seeds, cuttings, or root divisions. Seeds should be planted in spring, root divisions in autumn. Thin them to a 2-foot spacing.

Do not harvest roots from plants less than two years old.

In autumn, when the top growth has died back, dig out mature roots and remove the lateral rootlets. Wash, peel, and dry them whole or in slices.