Marshmallow seeds

Marshmallow medicinal or Marsh mallow pharmacy / Althaea officinalis

Perennial herbaceous plant, species of the genus Althea, family Malvaceae (Malvaceae).

Marshmallow officinalis is a plant whose height can be 2 meters. Young plants have single stems, while older plants have about 10 stems. There is one thick stem, which is the main one, from which thin branches extend upwards.

The leaves of the plant are alternate, soft, if you feel them, they resemble a bike. The leaves, located at the bottom of the stem, are rounded, these leaves die off in the initial stage of flowering. The middle leaves are also rounded, have a heart-shaped base, may have 3 or 5 lobes, and the upper leaves are entire.

All leaves have irregular teeth. The flowers, collected in bunches, are located on common peduncles, which are very short. The corolla of the plant consists of 5 petals, usually white, but sometimes pink. Marshmallow has a double calyx, the outer sepals are the subcalyx, which has 8-12 leaflets, and the calyx consists of 5 leaflets.

Marshmallow fruits are flat, disc-shaped and contain many seeds. Althea flowering begins in June and ends in July, and seed ripening occurs in early autumn.

Marshmallow can be eaten, its leaves are eaten stewed, boiled, and even raw when young, immature (peeled).