Roger Phillips

Common Mallow

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Wild Food

By Roger Phillips

Published 1986

  • About

Malva sylvestris A common perennial throughout England, less frequent in Wales and Ireland, and only local in Scotland, mallow does not occur in the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. It is found on roadsides and waste places, flowering from June to October.

The common name is derived from the Old English ‘malwe’, meaning soft, referring to the soft, downy leaves. The Romans are said to have eaten mallow leaves as a vegetable, as did the ancient Egyptians and Chinese. The seeds of the mallow, known as ‘cheeses’ because of their shape, were also eaten by country people and the plant has been used to supply a purgative drug.