106 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



for tlie name is oljscure. The "whorled nialhnv" is M. vcrti- 

 cillata, so named for the arrangement of the leaves. It is 

 also known as "curled mallow," doubtless because the general 

 public, failing to understand the significance of the technical 

 term, whorled. uses a word that it can understand though in 

 this case it means nothing. The "high mallow" is M. syl- 

 z'cstris. From the resemblance of its young ovaries to those 

 of the low mallow, or perhaps simply because thev are round 

 and flat, the species is also "cheese-flow-er," "cheese-cake" 

 and "pisk-cheese," the latter possibly derived from pixie and 

 therefore signifying fairy cheese. Though several names 

 liave been derived from the circular cluster of ovaries the 

 name of "round dock" probably refers to the leaves -which 

 lu-e roundish, though the term would be better applied to M. 

 i'otiindifolia. "Alarsh-mallow." applied to this plant, is clear- 

 1}' a misnomer while "maul" or "mauel" appears to be an- 

 other attempt to pronounce mallow. 



The true marsh-mallow belongs to the genus Althaea. 

 Its use in medicine is well known and this is further indi- 

 cated by the specific name officinalis which means "kept in the 

 shops." The plant is an interesting little species, originally 

 the source of the confection w-idely known as marshmallows. 

 The plant, however, does not appear partial to wet places, 

 at least it grows w-ell in any good garden soil. It has, how- 

 ever, been suggested that the name should be "mash mal- 

 low" and so named from its use in making poultices. Further 

 medicinal uses are indicated jjy such terms as "sw-eat-weed" 

 and "mortification-root." "Wymote" is of no significance. 

 so far as we are aware. The name of "white mallow" is 

 supposed to be in allusion to the medium-sized white flowers 

 but is is as well applied to' the white-dowaiy leaves. The 

 onlv other member of the genus Althaea in our region is the 

 "hollvhock" (A. rosea) which appears to have originally 



