Malvaceae FAMILY

Malva neglecta

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

When grown on nitrogen rich soils (and particularly when these are inorganic), the plant tends to concentrate high levels of nitrates in its leaves[ 76 Title Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. Publication Author Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Publisher HMSO Year 1984 ISBN 0112425291 Description Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock. ]. The leaves are perfectly wholesome at all other times.

Botanical Description

Malva neglecta is an ascending to procumbent, annual to short-lived perennial plant growing from a thick taproot; it can grow 8 - 60cm tall, though sometimes has trailing stems up to 100cm long. It produces numerous, branched stems that become more or less woody at the base[ 74 Title Flora of the USSR. Publication Author Komarov. V. L. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Israel Program for Scientific Translation Year 1968 ISBN - Description An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet. , 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ]. The plant is often harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is occasionally cultivated for its edible leaves. Malva neglecta has been introduced essentially worldwide in temperate areas. It is the most commonly found mallow in most of North America, and is usually considered a weed[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeEurasia - Sweden and Britain to Portugal, through Transcaucasia to Mongolia, China, through Turkey to India, Arabia; N. Africa - Algeria, Morocco

HabitatWaste and cultivated ground[ 17 Title Flora of the British Isles. Publication Author Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. Publisher Cambridge University Press Year 1962 ISBN - Description A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures. ], usually on dry soils, frequently in coastal habitats, on dry walls or as a weed of cultivated ground[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ].