Marshmallow

Althaea officinalis

Also: Marsh mallow, Althea

CoolingMoisteningRelaxing

A slippery root that brings moisture back to dry, burning tissue.

A tall, velvet-leaved mallow of salt marshes with pale pink flowers. Its root and leaf are rich in mucilage, a slippery coating that soothes, moistens, and protects every mucous membrane it reaches, and helps water stay in a body that loses it too fast.

Energetics: Cold, moistening, relaxing
Taste: Sweet, bland, slippery
Family: Malvaceae (mallow family)
Parts used: Root and leaf

Medicinal uses 7

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Traditional useLab and mechanism studiesClinical studies

Heartburn & refluxTLC
Coats and calms heartburn, reflux, and stomach ulcers.
Dry coughTLC
Moistens a tight, dry, tickling cough.
Sore throatTLC
Soothes a raw throat.
Bladder irritationTLC
Calms the burning of an irritated bladder.
Gut irritation & ulcersTLC
Protects an inflamed gut lining the whole length of the digestive tract.
Burns & sunburnTLC
A poultice soothes burns and dry, heat-damaged skin.
ConstipationTLC
Moistens a dry, slow bowel.

Preparations

An overnight cold infusion of the root, leaf tea for the lungs, and poultices.

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Cautions

Its mucilage slows absorption of medications taken at the same time; keep them at least two hours apart.

Medication interactions

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Pregnancy & breastfeeding

PregnancyGenerally compatible

One of the safer herbs, with no uterine activity and a strong traditional record. Keep it two hours apart from any medications.

BreastfeedingGenerally compatible

Generally considered compatible at usual tea amounts.

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Folklore

Confectioners in nineteenth-century France whipped marshmallow root sap with sugar and egg whites into pâte de guimauve, a soft lozenge for sore throats, and the modern marshmallow kept the name after gelatin replaced the root. The genus name Althaea comes from the Greek althaino, to heal. Charlemagne's estate decree of around 800, the Capitulare de villis, lists it among the plants to be grown in the royal gardens.

How to grow

A hardy perennial for moist soil in full sun, reaching 4 to 5 feet. It tolerates salty, damp ground. Dig roots in autumn of the second year and dry them in slices.

In the wild

Salt marshes, damp meadows, ditches, and riverbanks of Europe, western Asia, and North Africa, naturalized in the salt marshes of eastern North America. Common mallow, a garden weed, works in similar ways.

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