Marshmallow - A Soothing Sweet

Last week, a well-meaning relative gave me a box of rocky road chocolate for Easter. Upon opening it, I was alarmed at how incredibly tough and rubbery the so-called marshmallow centre was. I accept that many of our foods are not what they used to be; however, this very poor imitation marshmallow was taking things too far. I decided that it wasn’t fit for human consumption and threw the whole thing in the bin.

Real marshmallow (Althaea officinalis) is a native herb of Europe, where it was also used as a staple vegetable in times of crop failure and can be found growing along the banks of tidal rivers, damp-meadows, in marshes and usually near the sea.

Marshmallow can be found growing in similar situations in Australia and indeed grows around the many bays of Sydney Harbour. Many older Australians may have had the pleasure of preparing marshmallow for nights spent toasting them over the fire. The white juice of the crushed root was
boiled together with raw or brown sugar and the mixture was poured into a shallow tray to set. It was often sprinkled with coconut to top it off. This tasty dessert also has the added bonus of being a great aid to digestion.

The root of marshmallow contains generous amounts of mucilage, as well as pectin and phosphates of calcium, which makes it very useful for healing and soothing any sore, irritated and inflamed body tissue both inside and out. It is chiefly employed by herbalists in the treatment of overly
acidic or ulcerated stomach linings, and inflammation and ulceration of the digestive tract. The leaves have a stimulatory effect on digestive enzyme production and are added to extracts of the root when low enzyme populations are also a problem.

Externally, a poultice of the crushed root or leaf will reduce inflammation and aid the healing of wounds, burns, ulcers and acne.

By far the tastiest cough medicine you will ever take is the syrup made from marshmallow. It is especially useful for children and infants, and in combination with other herbs is used to treat colds, sore throats, bronchitis and whooping cough.

Luke Hughes is a Classical Western Herbalist.