''Malva'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of herbaceous

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

, and

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

, subtropical and

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions of Africa, Asia and Europe. 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 Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

"mealwe", which was imported from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

"malva", cognate with

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

μαλάχη (malakhē) meaning "mallow", both perhaps reflecting a Mediterranean term. The colour

mauve Mauve (, ; , ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ''mauve''). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–98 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare befo ...

was in 1859 named after the French name for this plant.

Uses

Ornamental plant

Several species are widely grown as garden flowers. Very easily grown, short-lived perennials are often grown as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

Food

Many species are edible as

leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...

s and commonly foraged in the West. Known as ''ebegümeci'' in Turkish, it is used as vegetable in Turkey in various forms such as stuffing the leaves with bulgur or rice or using the boiled leaves as side dish. ''Malva verticillata'' (,

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: ''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. In the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

, ''

Malva nicaeensis ''Malva nicaeensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names bull mallow and French mallow. Description ''Malva nicaeensis'' is an annual or biennial herb producing a hairy, upright stem up to 60 centimete ...

'' leaves and fruit are used as food (e.g., khubeza patties). Mild tasting, young mallow leaves can be a substitute for

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

, 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. 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. It is called "Soachal".

Medical use

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

(Spain) they use the leaves to cure the sting or paresthesia of the stinging nettle (''

Urtica dioica ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Ori ...

''). 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. The leaves can also be chewed to soothe coughs or sore throats.

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 An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

, particularly in the Americas where they are not native.

History

This plant is one of the earliest cited in recorded literature. The third century BC physician Diphilus of Siphnus wrote that " allowjuice lubricates the windpipe, nourishes, and is easily digested." Horace mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: "Me pascunt olivae, / me cichorea levesque malvae" ("As for me, olives, endives, and mallows provide sustenance"). 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.Letter from Monboddo to John Hope, 29 April 1779; reprinted by William Knight 1900 .

Species

The following species are accepted: *'' Malva acerifolia'' (Cav.) Alef. *'' Malva × adulterina'' Wallr. *'' Malva aegyptia'' L. *'' Malva aethiopica'' C.J.S.Davis *'' Malva agrigentina'' (Tineo) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso *'' Malva alcea'' L. – greater musk-mallow, vervain mallow *'' Malva arborea'' (L.) Webb & Berthel. *'' Malva × arbosii'' Sennen *'' Malva assurgentiflora'' (Kellogg) M.F.Ray – island mallow, mission mallow, royal mallow, island tree mallow *'' Malva bucharica'' Iljin *'' Malva cachemiriana'' (Cambess.) Alef. *'' Malva cavanillesiana'' Raizada *'' Malva × clementii'' (Cheek) Stace *'' Malva × columbretensis'' (Juan & M.B.Crespo) Juan & M.B.Crespo *'' Malva cretica'' Cav. *'' Malva durieui'' Spach *'' Malva × egarensis'' Cadevall *'' Malva flava'' (Desf.) Alef. *'' Malva hispanica'' L. *'' Malva × inodora'' Ponert *'' Malva × intermedia'' Boreau *'' Malva leonardii'' I.Riedl *'' Malva lindsayi'' (Moran) M.F.Ray *'' Malva × litoralis'' Dethard. ex Rchb. *'' Malva longiflora'' (Boiss. & Reut.) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso *'' Malva ludwigii'' (L.) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso *'' Malva lusitanica'' (L.) Valdés *'' Malva maroccana'' (Batt. & Trab.) Verloove & Lambinon *'' Malva microphylla'' (Baker f.) Molero & J.M.Monts. *'' Malva moschata'' L. – musk-mallow *'' Malva multiflora'' (Cav.) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso *'' Malva neglecta'' Wallr. – dwarf mallow, buttonweed, cheeseplant, cheeseweed, common mallow, roundleaf mallow *''

'' All. – French mallow, bull mallow *'' Malva oblongifolia'' (Boiss.) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso *'' Malva occidentalis'' (S.Watson) M.F.Ray *'' Malva olbia'' (L.) Alef. *'' Malva oxyloba'' Boiss. *'' Malva pacifica'' M.F.Ray *'' Malva pamiroalaica'' Iljin *'' Malva parviflora'' L. – least mallow, cheeseweed, cheeseweed mallow, small-whorl mallow *'' Malva phoenicea'' (Vent.) Alef. *'' Malva preissiana'' Miq. – Australian hollyhock *'' Malva punctata'' (All.) Alef. *'' Malva pusilla'' Sm. – small mallow *'' Malva qaiseri'' Abedin *'' Malva setigera'' K.F.Schimp. & Spenn. *'' Malva stenopetala'' (Coss. & Durieu ex Batt.) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso *'' Malva stipulacea'' Cav. *'' Malva subovata'' (DC.) Molero & J.M.Monts. *''

Malva sylvestris ''Malva sylvestris'' is a species of the mallow genus '' Malva'' in the family of Malvaceae and is considered to be the type species for the genus. Known as common mallow to English-speaking Europeans, it acquired the common names of cheeses, h ...

'' L. – common mallow, high mallow *'' Malva × tetuanensis'' Pau *'' Malva thuringiaca'' (L.) Vis. *'' Malva tournefortiana'' L. *'' Malva trimestris'' (L.) Salisb. *'' Malva unguiculata'' (Desf.) Alef. *'' Malva valdesii'' (Molero & J.M.Monts.) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso *'' Malva verticillata'' L. – Chinese mallow, cluster mallow *'' Malva vidalii'' (Pau) Molero & J.M.Monts. *'' Malva waziristanensis'' Blatt. *'' Malva weinmanniana'' (Besser ex Rchb.) Conran *'' Malva xizangensis'' Y.S.Ye, L.Fu & D.X.Duan

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q147325 Malvaceae genera