Malva

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For other uses, see Malva (disambiguation).

Malva
Malva sylvestris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Subfamily: Malvoideae
Tribe: Malveae
Genus: Malva
L.[1]
Type species
M. sylvestris[2]
Species

See text.

Synonyms[3]
  • Anthema Medik.
  • Axolopha Alef.
  • Bismalva Medik.
  • Dinacrusa G.Krebs
  • Lavatera L.
  • Navaea Webb & Berthel.
  • Olbia Medik.
  • Saviniona Webb & Berthel.
  • Stegia DC.
Malva sylvestris
Cheeseweed, Behbahan
Cheeseweed, Behbahan, Iran

Malva is a

temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Europe.[3]

The leaves are alternate, palmately lobed. The flowers are from 0.5–5 cm diameter, with five pink, lilac, purple or white petals.

Etymology

The word "mallow" is derived from Old English "mealwe", which was imported from Latin "malva", cognate with Ancient Greek μαλάχη (malakhē) meaning "mallow", both perhaps reflecting a Mediterranean term.[4] which has a purple colour; ultimately of Semitic origin.

In 1859, the colour mauve was named after the French name for this plant.[5]

Uses

Wild Cheeseweed Field, Behbahan
Wild Cheeseweed Field, Behbahan

Ornamental plant

Several species are widely grown as garden flowers.[citation needed] Very easily grown, short-lived perennials are often grown as ornamental plants.[6]

Food

Many species are edible as

Korean: 아욱 auk) is grown on a limited commercial scale in China; when made as a herbal infusion, it is used for its colon cleansing properties and as a weight loss supplement.[citation needed
]

In the Levant, Malva nicaeensis leaves and fruit are used as food (e.g., khubeza patties).

Mild tasting, young mallow leaves[

which?] can be a substitute for lettuce, whereas older leaves are better cooked as a leafy green vegetable. The buds and flowers can be used in salads. Small fruits that grow on the plants can also be eaten raw.[6]

Bodos of Northeast India cultivate a subspecies of Malva called lapha and use it extensively in their traditional cuisine, although its use is not much known among other people of India except in the northern Indian state of Kashmir where Malva leaves are a highly cherished vegetable dish called "Soachal".[citation needed]

Medical use

In Catalonia (Spain) they use the leaves to cure the sting or paresthesia of the stinging nettle (Urtica dioica).

Leaves of various species Malva have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally as tea or externally as baths for treatment of disorders of the skin, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract.[7] The leaves can also be chewed to soothe coughs or sore throats.[6]

Cultivation

Cultivation is by sowing the seeds directly outdoors in early spring. The seed is easy to collect, and they will often spread themselves by seed.

Some Malva species are invasive weeds, particularly in the Americas where they are not native.[3]

History

Portrait of Louise Vernet by Horace Vernet, 1830. She is shown clutching a mallow

The third century BC physician

Lord Monboddo describes his translation of an ancient epigram that demonstrates Malva was planted upon the graves of the ancients, stemming from the belief that the dead could feed on such perfect plants.[10]

Species

The following 61 species are accepted:[3]

References

  1. ^ "Malva L." Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 12 March 2007. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Malva L." Index Nominum Genericorum. International Association for Plant Taxonomy. 9 February 1996. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d "Malva Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  4. ^ O.E.D (1989) 2nd.ed. vol.IX, p.271 col.3; P.Chantraine, Dictionnaire de la langue grecque, Klincksieck, Paris 1968, vol.2 p.662. The Italian linguist Vincenzo Cocco proposed an etymological link to Georgian malokhi, comparing also Hebrew מַלּוּחַ (malúakh) meaning "salty". Gordon Douglas Young, Mark William Chavalas, Richard E. Averbeck, Kevin L. Danti, (eds.) Crossing boundaries and linking horizons: studies in honor of Michael C. Astour on his 80th birthday, CDL Press, 1997 pp.162-3.
  5. ^ "mauve", Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 11 March 2025, retrieved 16 March 2025
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4930-1499-6
    .
  7. PMID 23770053
    .
  8. ^ Soyer, Alexis (1853). The Pantropheon: Or, History of Food and Its Preparation : from the Earliest Ages of the World. Ticknor, Reed, and Fields. p. 64.
  9. ^ Horace, Odes 31, ver 15, c. 30 BC
  10. ISBN 1-85506-207-0.[page needed
    ]
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