114 MALVACE^J. 



odour, especially in hot weather, or when drawn lightly 

 through the hand. A white variety is not uncommon 

 in gardens. Fl. July, August. Perennial. 



* The above species agree in yielding a plentiful 

 tasteless mucilage, which, in some rural districts, is 

 highly valued for making poultices and cough mixtures. 

 Children often amuso themselves with gathering and 

 eating the unripe seed-vessels, which they call " cheeses :" 

 they are insipid, but not unwholesome. The common 

 Mallow is frequently called by country people, " Marsh- 

 Mallow," a name which properly belongs to Althcea 

 officindlis. 



2. LAVAT^RA (Tree-Mallow). 



1. L. arbor ea (Sea Tree-Mallow). A tall and hand- 

 some plant, 6 12 feet high, with a thick, almost woody, 

 stem ; soft, downy, angular leaves, and abundance of 

 purple flowers, resembling those of the Common Mallow, 

 but somewhat smaller, and of a deeper colour towards 

 the centre. On sea-cliffs and insulated rocks on many 

 parts of the coast. Fl. July October. Biennial. 



3. ALTH^JA (Marsh- Mallow). 



1. A. officindlis (Common Marsh- Mallow). Leaves 

 3 5 lobed, soft and downy on both sides ; flowers 

 several together. Marshes, especially near the sea. 

 Readily distinguished from any others of the Mallow 

 tribe growing in Britain, by the numerous divisions of 

 tlie outer calyx, by the hoary down which thickly clothes 

 the stems and foliage, and by the numerous panicles of 

 blush-coloured flowers. The starry down is a beautiful 

 object for the microscope. Fl. August, September. 

 Perennial. 



* A second species of Althaea, A. hirsuta (Hispid 

 Marsh-Mallow), occurs in considerable abundance near 

 Cobham, Kent, but is not considered a native. It may 



