Mallow

Mallow aka common mallow, French Mallow, and French hollyhock (Malva sylvestris) is an annual herb. It is native to North Africa, Macaronesia (the archipelagoes of Atlantic islands including Madeira, Azores, Canaries, and Cape Verde), and from Europe to Central Asia.

When he issued the Capitulare de Villis in about 800 A.D., the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne required that mallow (malvas in Carolingian Latin) be grown on all his imperial estates.

All parts of the plant are edible. Young leaves are cooked like spinach. Very young leaves up to two inches long and flower petals can be used in salads. Leaves for salads are best picked early in the season. Traditionally it is used as an anti-inflammatory. It was grown as an ornamental by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello.

Mallow seeds are about a quarter of an inch in diameter, brown in color, and shaped like a cheese wheel. The shape accounts for an alternative common name: cheese mallow.

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