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HOLLYHOCKS ALTHAEA ROSEA (= ALGEA ROSEA) It is mostly used in gargles for the swelling of the tonsils, and the relaxation of the uvula. This is a tall garden plant, six or seven feet (1.8 to 2. 1 m) high, with thick round stalks and large round hairy leaves. The flowers are of a pale red colour. Where to find it: Formerly from China, it grows freely in gardens. Flowering time: Mid to late summer. Astrology: It is of the nature of the Common Marsh Mallow (Althaea officinalis) but less mollifying. Like all Mallows, it is under Venus. Medicinal virtues: All parts have a rough, austere taste, especially the root, which has a very binding nature. Use the root to advantage, both inwardly and outwardly, for incontinence of urine, immoderate menses, bleeding wounds, spitting of blood, the bloody flux and other fluxes of the belly. It is also of efficacy in a spongy state of the gums, attended with looseness of the teeth and soreness in the mouth. Dried and reduced to a powder, or boiled in wine, and partaken of freely, it prevents miscarriage, helps ruptures, dissolves coagulated blood from fails and blows and kills worms in children. Modern uses: The Hollyhock can be eaten, but is not very tasty. The flowers are soothing and diuretic and used as a pectoral tonic. They should he picked when in full bloom and dried. The infusion ~ of oz (1 4-28 g) to 1 pt (568 mi) of boiling water - is taken in doses of 2 fl GZ (56 ml), three or four tinies a day, for coughs and bronchitis. See Mallow. |