ΜΑΛΑΧΗ
Malva sylvestris
(Mallow)
Botanical info:
Mallow is usually a biennial plant, though sometimes it can be annual or a short-lived perennial, originating from the Mediterranean costs. The erect stems are usually branched, the plant growing 30 - 120cm tall, exceptionally to 300cm. Flowers bright rose – purple with stripes. Grows naturally almost everywhere but abounds in waste ground, field verges and roadsides, avoiding acid soils.
Hippocratic legacy:
a. In Ulcers:
a. Mallow leaves with wine are used as poultice in oedemas and inflammations.
b. In Nature of Women:
a. Decoction of mallow root with water act as laxative and painkiller.
c. In Diseases of Women 1:
a. The previous decoction suggested for gynecological and vulval disorders.
b. Mallow juice in linen/woolen fabric for internal use as laxative.
c. Wild broad-leaved mallow used as vulval suppository stimulates birth.
d. Against uterus bleeding.
Other uses:
The use of Mallow has been much superseded by Marsh Mallow, but it is still a favorite remedy. The leaves and flowers are used only, mainly externally in fomentations and poultices. The infusion has been a popular remedy for coughs and colds, the internal use of the leaves is as a decoction for injection, which, made strong, cures strangury. The foliage when boiled, forms a wholesome vegetable. The seeds are also edible. A tincture of the flowers, which turn blue in fading, forms a very delicate test for alkalis.