92 MALVACE^. 



MALYACE^, 



RADIX ALTHiE^ 

 Marshmallow Root; F, Racine de Guimauve; Q. Ebischivurzel 



Botanical Origin — Althaea officmalis L., the marshmallow, grows 

 in moist places throughout Europe, Asia Minor, and the temperate 

 parts of Western and Northern Asia, hnt is by no means nniversally 

 distributed. It prefers saline localities such as in Spain the salt 

 marshes of ^Saragossa, the low-lying southern coasts of France near 

 Montpellier, Southern Russia, and the neighbourhood of salt-springs in 

 Central Europe. In southern Siberia Althsea has been met with by 

 Semenoff (1857) ascending as high as 3,000 feet in the Alatau mountains, 

 south of the Balkash Lake. 



In Britain it occurs in the low grounds bordering the Thames below 

 London, and here and there in many other spots in the south of Eng- 

 land and of Ireland. 



The cultivated marshmallow thrives as far north as Throndhjem in 

 Norway, and has been naturalized in North America (salt marshes of 

 New England and New York) and Australia. It is largely cultivated 

 in Bavaria and Wiirtemberp-. 



History— Marshmallow had iiian}^ uses in ancient medicine, and is 

 described by Dioscorides as 'AAOa/a, a name derived from tlie Greek 

 verb aXOe/j/, to heal. 



The diffusion of the plant in Europe durincr the middle ages was 

 promoted by Charlemagne who enjoined^ its Culture (a.d. 812) under 

 the name of " Mismalvas, id est alteas quod dicitur ibischa." 



^ Description-The plant has a perennial root attaining about a foot 

 n ength and an inch in diameter. For medicinal use the biennial 

 roots of the cultivated plant are chie% employed. When fresh they 

 are externally yellowish and wrinkled, white within and of tender 

 tieshy texture. Previous to drying, the thin outer and a portion of the 

 middle bark are scraped off, and the small root filaments are removed. 

 liie drug thus prepared and dried consists of simple whitish sticks 

 Hk/? *"??' ^^ *^^ thickness of the little finger to that of a qiul 



cenfr Jl !?"T'^ longitudinally and marked with brownish scars. Kj 

 fhpi^ iF'^f'' r^'^^ ^' P^^**^ wl^-ite, breaks with a short fracture, but 

 ea^silv .^; n^V'^^^^^"^^^- ^he dried root is rather flexible and 

 IT LT;- *i:a^sverse section shows the central woody column 



hne Thn f ^ V* '""^ separated from the thick bark by a fine dark out- 

 Jine shaded off outwards. 



ma^Si'sh ?n.l^-^' -^ -^"r^^^" ^^°^g^ ^^^y faint odour, and is of rather 

 mawkish and msipid taste, and very slimy when cheVed. 



libei abanna?''' Structure-The greater part of the bark consists of 

 cort cal tk.?,.'- ^.^ ^"^- '^^^ ^^'^'' to which the toughness of the 

 cortical tissue is due. They are branched and form bundles, each con- 



theGretk sSr"'" ^'«-^««^ ^-^torica, Legum ton. i. (1835) 181.-/^-'-^"^ ^'^"' 



