Erfurter Marshmallow Althaea officinalis ‘Erfurter’

LATIN NAME: Althaea officinalis

COMMON NAME: Marshmallow

The marshmallow is a soft, grey-green plant of the damp ground, and its name is older than the sweet. The tall, soft, hairy, perennial plant carries the broad, softly lobed, velvety leaves and the clusters of the large, pale-pink or white, cup-shaped flowers from the midsummer on, one of the soft, old presences of the moist border. The whole plant has a very long record of use in the old practice of the West, and the roots have their own long story in the kitchens and the remedies of the old world. It is a plant of the open, sunny, moist, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The marshmallow is a soft, useful figure in the plant science, studied for the velvety leaves and the mucilage of the roots. The chemistry of the roots and the leaves, which have a very long record in the old practice of the West, has been studied at length, and it keeps showing up in the work on the medicinal herbs, the mucilage plants and the members of the mallow family. The large, pale-pink flowers and the tall, soft habit have also made it a fine garden plant, and the marshmallow is a regular subject of the studies of the old soft herbs of the damp ground.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The marshmallow is a soft, generous plant of the moist border, with a long record of use. The large, pale-pink or white, cup-shaped flowers open through the summer, and the whole plant is a fine, soft presence of the moist border and the wild garden. The roots and the leaves have a very long record in the old practice of the West, and the soft mucilage of the roots remains a steady figure of the old remedies and the herbal work. It has been written about in the botanical and the herbal papers for the soft flowers and the very long record of use, and it is a fine, long-lived plant of the open, sunny, moist, well-drained garden.

The marshmallow is one of the old soft herbs of the damp ground, and the large, pale-pink, cup-shaped flowers open through the summer. The soft mucilage of the roots has a very long record in the old remedies of the West.

To grow the marshmallow from seed, sow the large, dark seeds one centimetre down in pots of moist, free-draining soil, keep the pots in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the moist ground. The seedlings are up within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the moist, rich, well-drained ground, the soft, pink cups will open through the summer.

Noted for soothing irritations and inflammations of the skin, throat, eyes, lungs and urinary organs. ERFURTER is rich in medicinal mucilage, up to 10%. Very hardy.

Marshmallow (althaea officinalis) is more well-known as the sugary treat that it can be used to make than the plant itself. Marshmallow a.k.a. Marsh Mallow, is an ornamental and medicinal plant that is indigenous to Africa. Growing to be about 3-4 feet in height, this hardy perennial has attractive five-petaled pinkish-white flowers. Marshmallow leaves are used fresh or dried. They are eaten in salads, as vegetable or made as a tea. Marshmallow’s use as a medicinal herb has extended for thousands of years with applications that include asthma, bronchitis, colds, coughs, Crohn’s disease, heartburn, inflammatory bowel disease, sore throat, stomach ulcers and ulcerative colitis. Most of these remedies are due to the mucilage found in the leaves and roots. This gelatinous substance has the ability to coat the digestive tract and throat. And it is this same substance that lends to the consistency of the sweet treat it can be made into. And it seems that the treat had its beginnings as a sore throat remedy. The evolution of the marshmallow appears to have begun with the Ancient Egyptians. But it was also influenced by the French who eventually replaced marshmallow mucilage with simple gelatin because gelatin was easier to acquire. But for vegans, you can still find suppliers that use this plant as the basis for their marshmallows.