The word "mallow" is derived fromOld English "mealwe", which was imported fromLatin "malva",cognate withAncient Greek μαλάχη (malakhē) meaning "mallow", both perhaps reflecting a Mediterranean term.[4] The Italian linguist Vincenzo Cocco proposed an etymological link toGeorgianmalokhi, comparing alsoHebrew מַלּוּחַ (malúakh) meaning "salty".[5]
In 1859, the colourmauve was named after theFrench name for this plant.[6]
Many species are edible asleaf vegetables[7] and commonly foraged. Known asebegümeci inTurkish, the leaves are used as a vegetable in Turkey in various forms such as stuffing the leaves with bulgur or rice or using the boiled leaves with seasoning as side dish.Malva verticillata (Chinese:冬寒菜;pinyin:dōngháncài,Korean:아욱auk) is grown on a limited commercial scale inChina; when made as a herbal infusion, it is used for its colon cleansing properties and as a weight loss supplement.[citation needed]
InTunisia, mallow is traditionally consumed in a variety of dishes, typically withcouscous.[10]
Mild tasting, young mallow leaves can be a substitute forlettuce, 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.[7]
Bodos of Northeast India cultivate a subspecies ofMalva 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 whereMalva leaves are a highly cherished vegetable dish called "Soachal".[citation needed]
Leaves of various speciesMalva 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.[11] The leaves can also be chewed to soothe coughs or sore throats.[7]
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.
SomeMalva species areinvasive weeds, particularly in the Americas where, excluding those species native to Baja California and California, most were introduced.[3]
The third century BC physicianDiphilus of Siphnus wrote that "[mallow] juice lubricates the windpipe, nourishes, and is easily digested."[12]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").[13]Lord Monboddo describes his translation of an ancientepigram that demonstratesMalva was planted upon the graves of the ancients, stemming from the belief that the dead could feed on such perfect plants.[14]
^"Malva L."Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 12 March 2007. Archived fromthe original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved16 February 2010.
^abcd"Malva Tourn. ex L."Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved14 June 2021.
^O.E.D (1989) 2nd.ed. vol.IX, p.271 col.3; P.Chantraine,Dictionnaire de la langue grecque, Klincksieck, Paris 1968, vol.2 p.662.
^Gordon Douglas Young, Mark William Chavalas, Richard E. Averbeck, Kevin L. Danti, (eds.)Crossing boundaries and linking horizons: studies in honor of Michael C. Astour on his 80th birthday, CDL Press, 1997 pp.162-3.
^"mauve",Wiktionary, the free dictionary, 11 March 2025, retrieved16 March 2025
