Photographed July 4.Photographed July 4.This is indeed the source of the original “marshmallows,” which gained their texture from the sticky substance in the roots of this plant. It is a tall and splendid wildflower, bearing many blooms at once. The leaves are toothy and often lobed like maple leaves. The deep purple stamens deposit deep purple pollen on the petals. The blooming season is long; some of these pictures were taken in Bethel Park in early July, and others in Carnegie in early October.
This is a European import, fairly rare in this area; it is not listed in the 1951 Check List of the Vascular Flora of Allegheny County. It is, however, abundant where it grows, which suggests that we may be seeing more of it as time goes on.
Photographed October 4.
Gray describes the genus and the species, but his “6–12 cm high” is off by a factor of ten. He probably wrote “dm” (decimeters, which he commonly uses in his measurements), and the proofreader missed the printer’s error. The Wikipedia article on Althaea officinalis says, “The stems, which die down in the autumn, typically grow 90 to 120 cm (3 to 4 ft), but can reach 2.0 m (6½ ft) and put out only a few lateral branches.”
ALTHAÈA L. MARSH MALLOW. Calyx surrounded by a 6-9–cleft involucel. Otherwise as in Malva. (Old Greek and Latin name, from althein, to cure, in allusion to its healing properties.)
A. officinàlis L. (MARSH MALLOW.) Stem erect, 6–12 cm. high; leaves ovate or slightly heart-shaped, toothed, sometimes 3-lobed, velvety-downy; peduncles axillary, many-flowered; flowers pale rose-color. — Salt marshes, coast of N. E. and N. Y., also locally westw. to Mich. and Ark. Aug. , Sept. – Perennial root thick, abounding in mucilage. (Nat. from Eu.)
