Medicinal Part: The herb. Solvent: Water. Bodily Influence: Demulcent, Emollient. Uses: As with other mucilagionous herbs the properties of M. sylvestris are an excellent demulcent in coughs, irritation of the air passages, flux, affections of the kidney and bladder, etc. Pliny wrote:“ That anyone taking a spoonful of mallows will be free of disease.” Parkinson wrote:“ Leaves and roots boiled in wine or water or in both with parsley doth help to open the body, for hot agues. Leaves bruised and laid on the eyes with a little honey take away the inflammation from them.” The Chinese eat the leaves raw in salad, or boiled as spinach. Dose: 1 teaspoonful of the herb to 1 cup of boiling water. Drink one or two cupfuls a day. Of the tincture ½ – 1 fl. dram. Externally: In inflammatory conditions of the external parts, the bruised herb farms an excellent application, making as it does a natural emollient cataplasm. Our Indians used leaves, soft stems and flowers, steeped and made into a poultice for running sores, boils and swelling. Russian Experience: Malva is known and pronounced in Russia as we do in America. There are several wild species throughout the land. Industry has stimulated cultivation. Folk Medicine: The medical properties of Malva are appreciated in cases of cathartic excess of the stomach and bowels. Also respiratory ailments of the common cold, sore throat, lung congestion, etc. used as a tea, poultice or Nastoika( with vodka). Malva contains a large amount of mucilage and sugar, plus Vitamin C, minerals, kerotin and colouring matter. Industrial: For 1 acre 8 – 10 lb. of seeds are needed, on an average. The following is estimated after a three-year period: roots 1,000 – 2,000 lb., leaves 1,000 lb.; seeds 200 lb. Ordinary grain seeding is done during the spring, or transplants from the greenhouse, in which case they yield more from the first year harvest.
COMMON MALLOW Malva sylvestris, L.( Dr. A. J. Thut, Guelph, Canada)
MANDRAKE, AMERICAN Podophyllum peltatum, L.( N. O.: Berberidaceae)
Common Names: May Apple, Hog Apple, American Mandrake, Indian Apple, Raccoonberry, Wild Lemon. Features: In the United States the name is applied to the May apple, Podophyllum pelatum, a herbaceous member of the Barberry family( Berberidaceae), that also has a perennial and sometimes divided rootstock. The American Mandrake is an entirely different plant from White bryony or English Mandrake, dealt with elsewhere. American Mandrake is native to eastern North America and