Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) is a herbaceous perennial plant native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It is found on the banks of rivers and in salt marshes, preferring moist, sandy soils.
When I first learned that marshmallow was a plant and not just a treat to throw into my hot cocoa, I started looking for it. I was living in Massachusetts at the time and I was so excited when I finally thought I found one!
There are several plants in the mallow family that look similar, though, and I have since decided that I’m not likely to ever find marshmallow out “in the wild” here in the US because the only places I’ve ever seen it spread are areas in which it was originally planted on purpose (like a farm.)
The marshmallow plant is a member of the Malvaceae family, which also includes mallow, cotton, and okra. The plant grows to be about 3-6 feet tall and has large, oval leaves with toothed edges. The flowers are pink or white and bloom in the summer. The fruit is a round, hairy seed pod that contains many small seeds.
Marshmallow root is rich in mucilage, a substance that soothes and protects the mucous membranes. A cooling tea can be made that will help soothe including sore throats, coughs, and stomach ulcers. The important thing to remember when working with marshmallow root is that you can’t just add some to a regular tea blend and expect it to work. It really needs to be extracted in cool or tepid water to pull all that mucilage out.
In the summer I will harvest the flowers and leaves to add to regular teas because they also have some moistening properties that can help balance out a formula. But I will opt for a cold infusion of the roots if I really need something to help my gut.
Here are some of the benefits of working with marshmallow root:
- Soothes and protects the mucous membranes
- Treats sore throats, coughs, and stomach ulcers
- One of the only few moistening herbs
- You can make real marshmallows
Most herbs tend to be drying to the body so it’s advised to add a little bit of moistening plants to your formulas so that you don’t completely dry out the person who is taking it. You can learn how to make a balanced formula in my Blending Herbal Teas mini class!
Marshmallow plant is ridiculously easy to grow from seed! I planted it once in my garden several years ago and ever since then I have found baby plants popping up all over my various garden beds. I’m not sure if the birds are eating and spreading the seeds or if it’s just the wind. But I work with this plant so often that it doesn’t matter– I always need more! The leaves are SO soft and fuzzy and fun to touch.
One of the only unfortunate things you need to be aware of when growing this plant (or any plant in the Malvaceae family) is that after it goes to seed it often becomes susceptible to a variety of rust fungus. This means rusty orange spots and holes will cover the leaves, at which point they are no longer suitable to be harvested.
Hibiscus sawfly larvae are awful little creatures you should be aware of that can decimate an entire planting of flowers too. Thankfully they have so far only destroyed my ornamental hibiscus and left the medicinal plants alone.
Common mallow (Malva neglecta) is another plant in the same family that you may find in your yard or garden. It is also native to Eurasia but has become naturalized in North America due to European colonization (like so many other plants!) The leaves and flowers are edible and medicinal though not as strongly mucilaginous as Althea.
I have yet to experiment with making my own marshmallows, but once I do I will update this post with the results. Because I can’t have cane sugar, I would definitely use honey in my recipe. This One looks perfect for me to try soon.
Marshmallow plant is a fantastic option to add to the medicinal herb garden on your homestead and is a worthwhile remedy to keep on hand. In fact it’s one of the herbs I feature in my Five Steps Toward Gut Health PDF that you can get right now if you want to know some simple but critical steps you can start taking today to heal your gut issues.
I always end up with way more marshmallow seeds than I need, so if you’re in my area around August or September, stop by and ask for a handful! They’ll quite literally last you forever because the seeds will grow into plants which then produce their own seeds and medicines in your garden for many years to come.
What do you think of Marshmallow? Have you ever made your own marshmallows? Tell me how they came out!