Description
Malva sylvestris
Common Mallow is a showy perennial wildflower. It has hairy palmate leaves and grows strongly to between 30 and 100cm. Large, 5 pinky purple flowers with darker veins on the petals, bloom in loose groups up the stems in June to Sept. Grows well on roadsides and poor soil anywhere, but is decorative enough to be a garden plant. It is thought that the Romans cultivated it for medicinal use, eating leaves, flowers and shoots. However, the texture and flavour isn’t good! Cut down in the autumn.
Sow at any time of year, rubbing the seed on sandpaper to break the hard seed coat, similar to Musk Mallow
Seed from Shropshire
Pic courtesy of Joan Simon from Barcelona, España, CC BY-SA 2.0
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