Common Mallow / Crni sljez

Description:

It is a spreading herb, which is an annual in North Africa, biennial in the Mediterranean and a perennial elsewhere.

Notes:

Mucilage is present in many of the Malvaceae family, especially the fruit and were employed medicinally, as demulcents and emollients. The seeds were used internally in a decoction as a demulcent and diuretic and the leaves made into poultices as an emollient for external applications. The name comes from Latin malva meaning soft ("molle", i.e. capable of softening). It is used in phytotherapy: the active ingredients are found in the flowers and leaves, which are rich in mucillage, used for their emollinet and expectorant properties, in chatarrh forms of the upper airways. The plant is largely used as emolliente and to sooth mucous membranes inflammations. Mallow can be takes as a herbal tea to hydrate and soften the guts[citation needed], and to regulate its functions due to its laxative action, due to the mucilage properties of swelling the guts, stimultaing their contractions and hence easing the emptying thereof. The species has long been used as a natural yellow dye, perhaps more recently, cream color, yellow and green dyes can be obtained from the plant and the seeds. A tincture of the flowers can make a very sensitive test for alkalis.