The flowers of this plant can be softened in water and then chewed to relieve the pain of a toothache. The flowers can also be brewed by infusion into a mouthwash that is said to soothe irritations of the mouth and gums.
The fresh or dried leaves, too, can be used, either to make a poultice or brewed to make a tea. In the latter form, mallow soothes the mucous membranes and is therefore considered a good remedy for sore throat or even sore tonsils. Some claim mallow tea will calm, intestinal irritation.
Externally, mallow tea is used as a body wash particularly on children, to reduce fever, or to clean bruises. Crushed leaves are also applied to relieve the inflammation associated with mumps. However it is used, it should be washed well because dogs tend to choose the mallow plant to mark their territory.
Healing with Herbs and Rituals, Eliseo "Cheo" Torres
Just drying leaves and flowers now. We have no dogs so marking isn't an issue but the bugs have started to eat the leaves and we wanted to harvest before it was too late. This is growing all over the yard but mostly in high traffic areas. This small patch was protected by a makeshift greenhouse which was removed this morning.
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Thank you for posting this. I have this "weed" all over my garden, but I never realized that it was a useful herb. I will think twice before pulling them out willy-nilly now!
ReplyDeleteThat's excellent, and I admire you for sharing. Interestingly I bought a book today on flowers and herbs, and what to look out for and what they are used for in medicinal purposes. Although i don't have the knowledge in English, I can make out the herbs by what they look like. I bought the book so I can understand them in the English language. Your article proves very useful, and I shall take note. Hope your having a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteI cant even imagine trying to learn about this with a language barrier. Kay is scheduled to go on a "edible and medicinal plant" hike later this month and we were lucky enough to have the instructor stop by to see the property. This was one of the plants she asked him to identify. We were able to find the specific name through the internet. I use "google image search" for tons of images for identification. We have a stack of herb books from the library and its fun to find a new herb and then look it up in a bunch of different places.
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