Marshmallow (genus)
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Common marshmallow ( Althaea officinalis ) |
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| Althaea | ||||||||||||
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The plant genus Marshmallow ( Althaea ) belongs to the Mallow family (Malvaceae). The distribution area extends from Europe to southwest and central Asia.
description
Althaea species are annual or perennial herbaceous plants that grow upright on their own. Most parts of the plant have more or less star hairs. The alternate leaves are simple or three to five-lobed to -part. There are stipules present.
The flowers stand individually or in bundles in the leaf axils, sometimes in terminal, racemose inflorescences . The outer calyx is nine-lobed. The hermaphrodite, radially symmetrical flowers are five-fold. Five sepals are fused cup-shaped. The five lavender to pink, obverse-shaped petals are only at most 2 cm of their length fused together funnel-shaped and the ends are slightly notched. In the subfamily Malvoideae, the many stamens have grown together to form a tube surrounding the pistil , the so-called columna ; in the Althaea species it is cylindrical and hairy. The brownish purple anthers stand in groups around their tip. The ovary consists of eight to 25 chambers, each with only one erect ovule .
There are schizocarps formed seeded in eight to 25, disintegrate wingless part fruits.
Systematics
Althaea was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum 2, 686.
There are about twelve Althaea species (selection):
- Althaea armeniaca Ten. : It occurs in the Caucasus, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Afghanistan and northern Iran.
- Althaea broussonetiifolia Iljin : It occurs in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
- Hemp-leaved marshmallow ( Althaea cannabina L. ): It occurs in southern Europe, south-eastern Europe, central Europe and eastern Europe, in western and central Asia, in the Caucasus and in Algeria.
- Rough marshmallow ( Althaea hirsuta L. )
- Althaea ludwigii L.
- Common marshmallow ( Althaea officinalis L. )
- Althaea villosa leaf. : It was described from India.
- Althaea villosoides leaf. : It was described from India.
The name Althaea goes back to the ancient Greek name of the plant, althaía (medicinal herb, wild mallow) and is derived from althéeis (= medicinal) or álth (aín) (= to heal; originally also to grow, nourish).
literature
- Ya Tang, Michael G. Gilbert, Laurence J. Dorr: Malvaceae. In: Flora of China. Volume 12, p. 268. Althaea - Online.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Althaea in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
- ↑ Ludwig August Kraus: Kritisch-Etymologisches medicinisches Lexikon, or explanation of the origin of the Greek, Latin and Oriental. Languages in medicine and in the art expressions initially taken up with it. 3rd, greatly increased and improved edition. Deuerlich & Dieterich, Göttingen 1844, p. 50.
- ↑ Helmut Genaust: Etymological dictionary of botanical plant names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Birkhäuser, Basel / Boston / Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-7643-2390-6 , p. 53 (Reprint: 2005, ISBN 3-937872-16-7 ).