Mallow (Malva sylvestris)

OriginThe mallow tree by the fence

The fruits look like tiny cheese rounds with a rim - hence cheese poplar, and generations of children have called them "Käsle" and eaten them.

The common mallow grows along roadsides, fences, rubble heaps, railway embankments, and walls throughout Europe and Western Asia – a typical ruderal plant that thrives where the soil is disturbed. It grows to knee- to hip-high and blooms from June until autumn with pinkish-purple flowers with dark veins. Its fruits split into ring-shaped mericarps that together resemble a small cheese wheel – hence its common name. Cheese mallow, which has nothing to do with cardboard, but with the porridge ("Papp") that was cooked from the leaves.

It is one of the oldest cultivated and medicinal plants in Europe. Among the Romans, it was a common vegetable – Pliny and Horace mention it – and it is among the plants that Charlemagne had cultivated under his Capitulare de villis (edict concerning royal estates). In folk medicine, it was a mild cough remedy for children, which could be given safely for weeks. Its close relative, the Marshmallow, is richer in mucilage and therefore the stronger medicinal drug; mallow is the more common, milder variant and is therefore available everywhere.

A unique feature that delights children and is also chemistry you can touch: The infusion of mallow blossoms is initially blue to blue-green and turns into a bright red when lemon juice is added Pink The anthocyanins are responsible, acting as natural pH indicators – the same reaction as in red cabbage. This doesn't affect the tea's effectiveness, but it greatly contributes to the enjoyment of the tea.

To useWhat the mallow does for you

The European Medicines Agency lists mallow flowers and leaves as a traditional use for dry, irritating cough and at mild inflammation of the oral and pharyngeal mucosa; Commission E has given it a correspondingly positive assessment. The principle of action is the same as with marshmallow root and just as easily understood: The mucilage swells in water, forming a viscous solution and, when drunk, coating the irritated mucous membrane as a thin film. This shields the cough receptors in the throat, thus relieving the irritation.

With approximately eight to ten percent mucilage in its flowers, the mallow ranks lower than the marshmallow, whose roots can reach up to twenty percent. This is precisely what makes it the better choice in many situations: it is milder in taste, she is unproblematic for children, And it can be used for longer periods. In pediatrics, mallow tea is one of the few cough teas that are drunk without question.

Traditionally, it was used for more than just coughs: as a poultice for irritated skin and minor inflammations, as a gargle, for stomach irritation, and – in peasant cuisine – simply as a vegetable. The young leaves are edible and slightly mucilaginous, the blossoms a pretty salad ingredient, and children have been nibbling the unripe "Käsle" (little cheeses) from the roadside for centuries.

The limitation is the same as with all mucilage-containing drugs and is purely practical: the film over the mucous membrane can also... Delaying the intake of other medications. A one- to two-hour interval between taking tablets completely resolves the problem. And for a chesty, productive cough, mallow is the wrong herb – expectorant herbs like thyme or fennel are needed, not suppressant ones.

IngredientsThis is what's in the flower and leaf

The Mucus They make up about eight to ten percent of the flowers, and slightly less in the leaves. Chemically, they are acidic polysaccharides, primarily galacturonorhamnans and arabinogalactans – the same class of substances as in marshmallow. They are not absorbed and do not act via the bloodstream; they act purely physically as a protective film where they remain.

The Anthocyanins Malvin, named after the genus, is the primary component that gives the flowers their color and the infusion its blue hue. These compounds are pH-dependent: in neutral to slightly alkaline conditions, they appear blue to blue-green, while in acidic conditions, they range from pink to red. This explains the color change when lemon is added. While their antioxidant properties are of interest in laboratory settings, they are irrelevant for cough remedies.

It also contains flavonoids, tannins in small amounts, and essential oil only in trace amounts. Therefore, the same preparation rules apply as with marshmallow: Cold infusion instead of infusion. Steep the blossoms in cold water for one to two hours, strain, and warm only to drinking temperature – never boil. Hot water destroys some of the mucilage and extracts the tannins, making the tea unnecessarily bitter. Furthermore, the beautiful blue hue is preserved with a cold infusion, while it turns gray with a hot one.

Enhanced combinationsWhat makes the mallow stronger

Cold, patient and in the right company - when it comes to mucilage, temperature is everything.

What contradicts itselfIt's best to avoid these combinations.

To which courtWhere she belongs

• Mallow cold infusionTwo teaspoons of blossoms to 250 ml of cold water, steep for one to two hours, then lukewarm.
• Cough tea mixtureMade with equal parts marshmallow root and ribwort plantain, prepared cold.
• gargle solutionThe same extract for sore oral mucosa and scratchy throat.
• Children's teaOne of the few cough teas that children drink voluntarily.
• Flowers in saladThe pinkish-purple flowers can be used as an edible decoration.
• Young leavesAs a mild, slightly slimy leafy vegetable - steamed like spinach.
• nibbling cheesePicking unripe fruit straight from the roadside – an old children's game.
• Mallow soupBound with young leaves - a recipe from the poor's kitchen.
• Color experimentAdd lemon to the blue infusion and watch it turn pink.
• Skin wrapStrong extract, cooled, applied to dry and irritated skin.

As a home remedyTea for children

Ayurveda & TCMWhat the old systems say

Warning noticesWhen you should be careful

This page provides information and does not replace medical advice. If symptoms persist, please consult a doctor.

Related to the topicRead on and cook along!

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