SWAMP ROSE-MALLOW 



give an air of distinction to any group however hum- 

 ble the others may be. 



The flower greatly resembles a Hollyhock, is in fact 

 quite as showy, but there are not so many individuals 

 on the stem and the scale of color is not so varied. 



The blossom may always be known as Hibiscus, 

 Mallow, in distinction from Althcea, Hollyhock, by 

 the five threadlike styles which protrude from the 

 column of stamens, each bearing at the tip a Httle stig- 

 matic ball. This is characteristic of the genus. 



The plant has been transferred to our gardens 

 where, like many other swamp plants, it finds a con- 

 genial home. A variety called Crimson Eye, a clear 

 white with a crimson centre, was found in a swamp in 

 New Jersey and introduced to the trade in 1894. 



Many people confound the Rose-Mallow with the 

 Marshmallow. It is, to be sure, a marshmallow in 

 that it grows of choice in marshy ground; but it is not 

 the Marshmallow, Althcea officinalis. That Mallow is 

 an alien brought to our shores by chance and has 

 found a congenial home in the marshes on our eastern 

 seacoast from Cape Cod to Cape May. Its flowers 

 are pink, borne in narrow racemes, and smaller than 

 those of the Rose-Mallow. Its root is used for mu- 

 cilage and is credited with medicinal value. 



The following poem from The Boston Transcript 

 on gathering Mallows is worth remembering: 



"Past detaining lily-pads, past the ripening rushes, 

 Push your little boat, my lads, where the orchid blushes. 

 Where the stems of cardinal flare, Hke red rods of warning, 

 Where the arum, silver fair, opens to the morning. 

 Just beyond the cat-tails' bound, in among the sallows, 

 There's the spot where they are found, tall and wondrous 

 mallows. 



