Wood mallow – Malva sylvestris
Description of wood mallow:
Malva silvestris Malva silvestris Malva silvestris Malvaceae Wood mallow is a biennial or perennial plant. Stems are erect, from 20 cm to one metre long, round, branched and hairy. Usually several stems grow from a single stalk. Leaves are stalked, the stem 5-10 cm long; the leaf blade is roughly circular, with 5-7 lobes in the palm, toothed-edged and green in colour. The leaf-plate shoulders are weakly cordate, the margins deeply notched. Flowers in axillary leaf axils in clusters of two or more, pedicellate, peduncles 1.5-4 cm. long and pubescent with calyx. The flower has a double calyx, if there is an outer calyx of 3 green leaflets in addition to the normal 5-lobed calyx. The pistil is red to pink with darker veins. The petals are 5 in number, 3-4 times the size of the calyx, up to 2 cm long, with deeply notched edges. The stamens are numerous and the filaments are connate. The seed coat of the flower produces a rounded, flattened, usually ten-seeded, flat, disc-shaped, many-seeded fruit called papsae. The wood mallow flowers from June to the end of September.
Occurrence:
Wood mallow is widespread throughout the country, growing along roadsides, in fallow areas, forest edges, fields and in debris fields. In Europe and Russia-Asia, except in the north, they grow in bare places, along roadsides and hedgerows.
Medicinal properties and uses of wood mallow:
All parts of the wood mallow contain a lot of mucilage, and that is why its flowers and leaves are used in medicine. Its flowers are called flores malvae and its leaves folia malvae. The flowers of the mallow are used to make tea to treat sore throats, and its leaves are used as a soothing and emollient, and for poultices, enemas and baths. It is used as a home remedy for tracheitis. The leaves are an ingredient of species emollientes and the flowers of species althaeae.
Collection and harvesting:
It is advisable to collect the flowers of the wood mallow in July and August, when they bloom most abundantly. It is best to pick them in July after they have fully opened. The flowers should be picked when the sun is shining, and the whole flower should be plucked with the calyx. As the leaves of the mallow are also valuable, for the sake of simplicity the whole plant can be cut and transported home, where the flowers and leaves are then picked separately. The collected flowers are spread out on a tarpaulin and dried quickly in the sun to retain their beautiful colours, 5 kg of fresh flowers will produce 1 kg of dry flowers. The dried raspberry blossoms are bluish in colour. Its flowers should not be confused with those of the round-leaved mallow, which are much smaller, and other wild mallow species. The leaves are also valuable. While the round-leaved poppy provides the smaller leaves, the wood mallow provides the large leaves, both sold as folia malvae. Forest mallow leaves are also harvested during flowering, in July and August. The leaves should be cleaned of stem parts, dried quickly on a tarpaulin in the sun or in a well-ventilated attic, as the value of 5 kg of fresh leaves to 1 kg of dry leaves depends on the green colour remaining intact.
Active ingredient:
Plant mucilage, the flower also contains tannins and dyes. Source: Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr. Gyula Magyary-Kossa, Domestic medicinal plants, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses Béla Páter, Wild Medicinal Plants
