Althaea officinalis

Species of plant Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) Althaea officinalis, the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. Description This herbaceous perennial grows to 180 cm (6 ft) tall and puts out only a few lateral branches. The whole plant is softly stellate-hairy, especially the leaves, which are broadly triangular to oval, often with 3–5 shallow lobes, irregularly toothed, with cordate to cuneate bases. Leaf size varies considerably, up to 100 mm (4 in) long, and 75 mm (3 in) wide. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stem, with no stipules, on petioles up to 45 mm (1.75 in). The inflorescences occur in the leaf axils and at the top of the stem and consist of panicles of 1-many flowers. The flowers are actinomorphic with 5 lilac/pink petals up to 2 cm (0.8 in) long and 5 green sepals which are much shorter than the petals, and fused at the base. Below the petals is a cup-shaped epicalyx with 6–9 narrow, triangular lobes, half the length of the sepals. The purple stamens are united into a tube, the anthers kidney-shaped and one-celled. There