Mallow / Malva

Malva / Mallow (Malva sp., likely Malva parviflora) is a soft, generous little plant with rounded, scalloped leaves and a gentle presence in the garden. The leaves are tender and slightly velvety, with long stems that spread outward from the center of the plant. It may not look dramatic, but Malva is one of those plants that becomes much more interesting once you understand how much food and medicine it carries.

The leaves are rich in mucilage, which gives them a soft, slippery quality when crushed or infused in water. That mucilage is a large part of Malva’s medicine. Traditionally, the plant has been used to soothe dry or irritated tissues throughout the body, especially the throat, respiratory tract and digestive system. It is wonderful in teas when the tissues feel dry, scratchy or inflamed, and the leaves can also be used externally as a soft poultice for irritated skin. The roots and flowers also contain this soothing mucilage and have their own traditional uses.

Malva is edible as well as medicinal. The young leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked and added to soups, stews and other dishes, where their mucilage gives a slightly thickening quality similar to okra. The tender young seed pods are also edible. It is a beautiful example of a plant that sits right between food and medicine, something I especially value in the garden.

Malva likes fertile, living soil with good moisture and plenty of organic matter, but it is not particularly demanding. It grows well in sun or partial shade and appreciates regular watering while it is establishing. Once happy, it can grow quickly and will often reseed itself, appearing again wherever the conditions suit it. Allow a few plants to flower and go to seed and you can easily keep Malva returning year after year.

This is one of those quiet plants that can be overlooked because it grows so easily, yet it has so much to offer. It feeds us, soothes us, supports the tissues of the body and asks very little in return. Malva belongs beautifully in a medicinal garden, a food forest or simply tucked among the vegetables where its soft green leaves can be harvested whenever they are needed.