Plant · P-122

Marshmallow

Althaea officinalis

Marshmallow is the plant marshmallow confection was originally made from - the root can be cooked, dried and ground into the classic treat, and the leftover cooking water from any part of the plant whips up like egg white for meringue, an odd bit of kitchen chemistry no other plant here duplicates. It also has a real medicinal record, approved by German health authorities for soothing mouth, throat and stomach irritation. True to its name, it is a marsh plant that wants permanently wet, even brackish, ground rather than an ordinary bed, and it tolerates salt in the soil that would trouble most perennials.