Medicinal Uses of Mallow (Malva neglecta)

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

Mallow (Malva neglecta) is another good medicinal herb growing right under our noses, probably somewhere near the dandelions in our lawns.  It's pretty happy to pop up anywhere around the house and garden, but doesn't generally wander too far into the desert terrain that comprises most of our property.  I transplanted a couple small mallows that were growing in the pathways in the garden and put them in the boxed bed growing other medicinal herbs to see what they would do with good watering and fertilization.  They pretty much took over the place until I pulled the plants out this week to harvest their roots.

According to herbalists, everything about the medicinal uses of mallow (Malva neglecta) applies to its cousins marsh mallow (Althea officinalis) and hollyhock.  So if those are what you have growing around you, they can be used instead of Malva neglecta.

The leaves and flowers can be harvested at any time.  The leaves are sometimes crushed and used as a poultice for skin irritations.  The leaves are also quite edible and because they are reported to taste like lettuce, I decided to give them a try.  Yes, as a matter of fact, they do taste kind of like lettuce.  The ones I ate were straight from the garden.  I imagine they'd be even better chilled and with some salad dressing.  I have no doubt that if you mixed them into a green salad with store-bought lettuce that anyone would notice a difference in taste.  However, the leaves have a unique shape to them, so people can definitely tell something is different by looking.  Oh, and mallow leaves are also a great source of vitamin A. 

Because the active constituents of mallow are not very soluble in alcohol, it is not prepared as a tincture.  It is best prepared as an infusion.  Mallow is very mucilaginous, which makes it one of the very best herbs for treating coughs.

While the entire plant is medicinal, the roots are the strongest.  Harvest the roots in the fall, when they have the highest polysaccharide content, and cut them into small pieces before dehydrating.  The roots are a lot harder to cut up when dry. 

Mallow is used to treat the following conditions:

• eczema and sunburn (poultice made from the leaves)
• urinary tract infections
• dysentery
• sore throat, cough, cold, and bronchitis
• acid reflux, ulcers, irritable bowel

Infusion:  Mallow is one of a few herbs that are most effectively prepared as a cold infusion.  To prepare an infusion, put two tablespoons of dried root in a quart jar and fill with cold water.  Soak and stir for at least one hour.   May be used as a poultice or compress or skin wash.  Mallow infusion is most commonly used alone or but may also be used in conjunction with other herbs for quieting a cough.  It is a very good expectorant but is also effective at quieting a dry, unproductive cough. It's antimicrobial properties help with bacterial infections of the upper respiratory system. Mallow is very safe for even young children.

Contraindications:  none.

Links to related posts:
Herbal Antibiotics  
The Herbal Medic  
The HomeGrown Herbalist  

For further reading:
Stephen Buhner, Herbal Antibiotics, p 373.
Sam Coffman, The Herbal Medic, p 131.
Patrick Jones, The HomeGrown Herbalist, p 147
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25949951
http://www.naturalmedicinalherbs.net/herbs/m/malva-neglecta=dwarf-mallow.php
http://montana.plant-life.org/cgi-bin/species03.cgi?Malvaceae_Malvaneglecta
https://medivetus.com/botanic/malva-neglecta-mallow-edible-and-medicinal-uses/
https://backyard-wildcrafting.blogspot.com/2009/09/common-mallow.html
https://draxe.com/nutrition/marshmallow-root/

© 2019, PrepSchoolDaily.blogspot.com