Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chinese mallow and relatives
MALVACEAE
The mallow family is made up of more than 200 genera of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous
plants with generally alternate leaves. Mallows are monoecious and have perfect flowers.
Plants produce fruits in the form of schizocarps (a dry fruit that splits into sections) or bolls
(seed capsules). Cotton (
Gossypium herbaceum
), the most widely grown fiber plant in the
world, is a member of the family; cotton fibers are made up of monocellular hairs from the
boll, which surrounds the seeds. Okra (
Abelmoschus esculentus
) also produces a boll as its
fruit; it is an important vegetable in Mediterranean, Arabic, and African cuisines and in the
cuisine of the American South. Okra fruits are harvested when still green, unripe, juicy, and
soft. Typical mallows grown in Western gardens are marshmallow (
Althea officinalis
), holly-
hock (
Alcea rosea
), and plants of the genus
Malva
. The musk or hollyhock mallow (
M. al-
cea
), tall or high mallow (
M. sylvestris
), or common mallow (
M. neglecta
) are grown in
many gardens as medicinals with expectorant properties. The fruits of these plants are
schizocarps, whose seeds are joined together in the form of a ring.
CHINESE MALLOW
Malva verticillata
Not especially well known in the West, Chinese mallow is an old crop plant in China, where several
varieties and uses exist. In traditional Chinese medicine, seeds are used to treat swelling and to increase
mother's milk production. Curled mallow (var.
crispa
) does have a horticultural tradition in Europe. Its
leaves are used like spinach, in soups or salads; flower buds can also be used in salads.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
• five large plants from a 16 ft.
2
(1.5 m
2
) patch
POLLINATION NOTES
Chinese mallow is a selfer. Cross-pollination can also occur through insects, but
since this plant is fairly rare in the West, it's unlikely that the purity of your variety would be threatened
by crossing with plants from a neighbor's garden. If you would like to grow more than one variety for
seed, use a mechanical isolation technique. Chinese mallow flowers are white and relatively inconspicu-
ous.
