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MALLOW (Common) MALVA SYLVESTRIS When boiled in water, the strong decoction is good to take off the strangury. The Common Mallow grows three or four feet (0.8 to 1.2 m) high, with a thick round stern, roundish indented leaves and large reddish-mauve flowers. Where to find it: Hedgerows, edges of fields and waste ground. Flowering time: Late spring, early summer. Astrology.. All Mallows are under Venus. Medicinal virtues: The whole plant is used, but the root has most virtue. The leaves, dried or fresh, are put into decoctions for clysters. The root may be dried, but it is best fresh, if chosen when there are only leaves growing from it, not a stalk. Boiled in water, the strong decoction when drank provokes the urine, sharp humours of the bowel and gravel. Sweetened with a syrup of Violets, it cures painful urination. A conserve of Mallow flowers, a syrup of the juice, a decoction of Turnips, or Willow, or a Syrup of Ground-ivy is also good for this. Modern uses: The leaves and flowers are soothing to the urinary tract, intestines, and respiratory organs. An infusion of 1 oz (28 g) of the leaves or flowers in 1 pt (568 ml) of boiling water is taken in doses of 2 fl OZ (56 ml) for cystitis, coughs and colds and for intestinal inflammation. |