Mauritian Mallow Malva sylvestris mauritanica

LATIN NAME: Malva sylvestris var. mauritiana

COMMON NAME: Mauritian Mallow

A big, branching perennial of the waysides and the old gardens, the Mauritian mallow is a bold and generous plant. It grows to about a metre and a half, with rounded, softly lobed leaves on long stalks and, through the long summer, the open, five-petalled flowers of a deep, glowing pink-purple, each one crossed by the fine, darker veins that run toward the throat. The flowers keep coming for weeks on end, and the plant stays in flower from the early summer well into the autumn. It is a variety of the common mallow, a species of the flowering herb in the mallow family, native to the warm parts of the old world, while this large-flowered form has been grown in the gardens for a very long time, and it is known as the Mauritian mallow.

The Mauritian mallow belongs to the mallow family, Malvaceae, and it is a big, branching perennial herb of the warm parts of the old world. Its flowers are larger and deeper in colour than those of the common mallow, and the whole plant has a handsome, sturdy look. It is known as the Mauritian mallow, and it is treasured for its long, generous flowering.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The mallows have been looked at in the botany for their soft, mucilaginous ways, and the leaves and the flowers have been studied for the gentle, soothing qualities that have made the mallows a traditional herb of the kitchen and the stillroom. The Mauritian form has been written up in the horticultural papers as a fine, showy plant of the cottage garden, and the mallow family as a whole has been a subject of the study for its easy, generous flowering and its tough ways. The flowers have also been studied for their value to the bees, and the plant has been looked at in the breeding for its large, deep-coloured flowers. For a plant that has grown in the old gardens for so long, the Mauritian mallow has a steady, homely record of study.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the garden the Mauritian mallow does a great deal with very little. The big, open flowers are a busy stop for the bees and the hoverflies, and the soft, lobed leaves give the border a full, generous shape. The young leaves and the flowers have long been added to the salads of the old world, and the plant has been grown in the cottage gardens as a cheerful, dependable bloomer that asks only for sun and a little room. It seeds itself around the garden, and a single plant will soon have its descendants in the sunny corners. A gardener who wants a long, showy flowering with no fuss could hardly ask for a better plant than the Mauritian mallow. Sow the flat, hard seeds on the surface of pots of light, free-draining soil and cover them very lightly with a thin layer of fine compost, keep them moist and warm in a bright spot, and the sturdy seedlings will be up within no time.

Uses: Culinary/Medicinal/Beverage