The image, above, shows the full Marsh Mallow plant (Althaeaofficinalis), with a close-up of the flower head, left. In
the centre is a stand of Marsh Mallow plants. The right hand
images show, top, a close-up view a flower, and bottom a view of
Marsh Mallow leaves..
| Common Name: Marsh Mallow |
| Scientific Name: Rumex alpinus |
| Other Names: Common Marshmallow |
| Family: Malvaceae |
| Range: Central and southern Europe, including Britain, to N. Africa and W. Asia |
Physical Characteristics
Rumex alpinus is a hardy Perennial plant, growing to 1.2m (4ft) by 0.8m (2 ft 7 in) in size. It is hardy to zone 3 and is not frost tender. The plant flowers from July to September and seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated bees. The plant is self-fertile.
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| Edible Parts: Leaves, Root |
 Edibility Rating: 4 
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 Known Hazards: There is no formal documentation of known adverse effects for this plant. However, anecdotal reports mention potential allergic reactions and reduced blood pressure.
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Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Marsh Mallow along with all the Marsh Mallow containing recipes presented on this site, with 1 recipes in total.
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Marsh Mallow as a major wild food ingredient.
The Marsh Mallow, Althaea officinalis (also known as Common marshmallow), is a tall perennial herb of the Malvaceae (mallow) family. The marsh mallow, as the name suggests, is quite literally a Mallow that grows in marshes. In fact, these are plants of river banks and salt marshes that prefer moist, sandy, soils. The plant is native to Europe and Asia and grow up to 2m tall. These stems bear leaves that are palmately lobed with 3-7 lobes. It produces velvety pink flowers between July and September.
The flowers and young leaves are edible and can either be added to raw salads or they may be boiled and fried as a vegetable. The leaves can also be used as a potherb. As they contain a mucilaginous substance the leaves can be finely chopped and added to soups and stew to thicken them. There is evidence that the root has been used since Egyptian times where it seems to have been made into a honey-sweetened confection used for the treatments of sore throats. Indeed, the roots of the plant have been collected to make cough syrup throughout the ages. A later French recipe for pâté de guimauve added an egg-white, starch and rose water flavour to ground or grated marsh mallow root which produced a confection that was the fore-runner of modern marshmallows (hence the origin of the name).
Though the young leaves taste pleasant enough, they are hairy and if you are adding to salads, it's best to chop them finely first. Marshmallow root can also be cooked as a vegetable (it is high in starch). The water left-over from cooking any part of the plant contains large quantities of mucilage and can be used as an egg-white substitute in baking, making merinuges or confectionary, etc (the water from cooking the root is best for this).
A tea can be prepared from the flowers of the plant and a tea can also be made from the root.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.
These recipes, all contain Marsh Mallow as a major wild food ingredient.
The Marsh Mallow, Althaea officinalis (also known as Common marshmallow), is a tall perennial herb of the Malvaceae (mallow) family. The marsh mallow, as the name suggests, is quite literally a Mallow that grows in marshes. In fact, these are plants of river banks and salt marshes that prefer moist, sandy, soils. The plant is native to Europe and Asia and grow up to 2m tall. These stems bear leaves that are palmately lobed with 3-7 lobes. It produces velvety pink flowers between July and September.
The flowers and young leaves are edible and can either be added to raw salads or they may be boiled and fried as a vegetable. The leaves can also be used as a potherb. As they contain a mucilaginous substance the leaves can be finely chopped and added to soups and stew to thicken them. There is evidence that the root has been used since Egyptian times where it seems to have been made into a honey-sweetened confection used for the treatments of sore throats. Indeed, the roots of the plant have been collected to make cough syrup throughout the ages. A later French recipe for pâté de guimauve added an egg-white, starch and rose water flavour to ground or grated marsh mallow root which produced a confection that was the fore-runner of modern marshmallows (hence the origin of the name).
Though the young leaves taste pleasant enough, they are hairy and if you are adding to salads, it's best to chop them finely first. Marshmallow root can also be cooked as a vegetable (it is high in starch). The water left-over from cooking any part of the plant contains large quantities of mucilage and can be used as an egg-white substitute in baking, making merinuges or confectionary, etc (the water from cooking the root is best for this).
A tea can be prepared from the flowers of the plant and a tea can also be made from the root.
References:
[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants
The alphabetical list of all Marsh Mallow recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 1 recipes in total:
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| Semi-traditional Marshmallows Origin: France |
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