Wild mallow

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Wild mallow
Wild mallow (Malva sylvestris)

Wild mallow ( Malva sylvestris )

Systematics
Eurosiden II
Order : Mallow-like (Malvales)
Family : Mallow family (Malvaceae)
Subfamily : Malvoideae
Genre : Mallow ( Malva )
Type : Wild mallow
Scientific name
Malva sylvestris
L.

The common mallow ( Malva sylvestris ), also Big Cheese poplar and Ross Poplar called, is a plant of the genus of mallow ( Malva ) within the family of mallow (Malvaceae). Its common German name Käsepappel has nothing to do with poplar , but refers to the cheese-loaf-shaped, slimy fruit from which children's porridge (cardboard) was used in the past. Numerous different folk names reflect the popularity and versatile use of the wild mallow. It is one of the oldest known useful plants and was already cultivated as a vegetable and medicinal plant in ancient times .

Common names

The wild mallow has different folk names that reflect different aspects of its meaning, such as cheese liqueur, hare poplar, hemp poplar, locust bean, cat cheese, piss flower, rosspapel, horse mallow or carrot mallow.

Description and ecology

illustration

Appearance, roots and leaves

The wild mallow grows as a wintering green, rarely annual, mostly biennial to perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of 30 to 125 centimeters. With its spindle-shaped, fleshy, deep taproot , it is firmly anchored in the ground. The inside white root is characterized by numerous root fibers. The stem , which is covered with numerous coarse tufts of hair, usually grows upright, but there are also specimens with an ascending or prostrate stem. The rounded in cross-section to angular stem can lignify near the ground in the outer region, but in he has a loose cord . Often, after flowering, the stem does not die off completely to the root, but forms hibernating leaf buds in the axils of the lowest, already dead leaves, from which the plant sprouts again in the next year. In strong specimens, the taproots can develop adventitious buds just below the ground . A new flower stalk sprouts from some in the following year. The above-ground parts of the plant can be hairy.

The 2 to 4 centimeters long and 2 to 5 centimeters wide leaves are arranged alternately on the stem and consist of a petiole and a leaf blade. The 2 to 6 centimeters long petiole has rough hairs and sits across the stem. The grass-green leaf blade, which is softly hairy on both sides, is ivy-like, rounded to heart-shaped and five- to seven-lobed. The design of the leaves depends on their position on the stem axis. The rather rounded lower stem leaves have seven lobes, the upper ones are pointed seven-lobed, the uppermost stem leaves are usually cut deeper and divided into five lobes. The leaf margin shows a clear notch. The stipules are linear-elongated to lanceolate and pointed with a length of about 5 mm and a width of about 1.5 mm. At the base of the petiole, they sit across the stem.

blossom

Flower buds
male flower phase - stamen column with densely packed anthers that spread upwards in a bell-shaped manner
female flower phase - the red branches of the style, covered with scar papillae, are now in the flower center
Floral diagram
Pollen
fruit

The flowering period is between May and September. The flowers are usually two to four (rarely up to ten) in clusters in the leaf axils, but can also stand individually. With a length of 2 centimeters, the hairy flower stalks are shorter than the leaf stalks and upright at flowering and fruiting times.

The hermaphrodite, five-fold flowers are radially symmetrical with a diameter of 2.5 to 5 centimeters . The outer calyx consists of two to three ungrown, green bracts . The narrow bracts are egg-shaped to lanceolate with a length of 2 to 3 millimeters and a width of about 1.5 millimeters. The five 3 to 6 millimeter long sepals are bell-shaped fused to one another up to the middle and end in five broad, triangular, pointed calyx tips. The width of the calyx lobes is 2 to 3 millimeters. Both the cup and the outer cup can have shaggy hair. Usually the petals protrude three to four times the calyx. The five nailed petals are narrow, about 1 centimeter wide, obovate and clearly delineated. The petals, which are pink in their basic color, have fine, slightly darker longitudinal veins (streak marks), which give them their characteristic pattern. The purple color is based on water-soluble anthocyanins that are found in the juice of the cell vacuole . The crown nail is ciliated. The wild mallow has numerous stamens, the long stamens of which have grown together to form a cylindrical, approximately 3 millimeter long stamen tube that is fluffy covered with star hairs. This is fused with the petals, completely surrounds the multi-column style and hides the upper ovary. Only the thread-like scars, which are made lengthways on the inside of the stylus branches, are released to the point. The upwardly exposed stamens carry kidney-shaped, white anthers. The dust bags are each equipped with only one counter. They open across to release the pollen. The pollen grains are white, short-pricked and spherical. Numerous carpels are a roundish, depressed slightly, Upper permanent ovary overgrown. Partitions form at the points of attachment, so that, analogous to the number of carpels, numerous chamber-like fruit compartments arise.

Pollination and Flower Ecology

In terms of ecology, the flowers are pre-male disc flowers. In the male flowering phase, the anthers, which spread out upwards in a bell-shaped manner, are densely packed and completely cover the branches of the style. The latter are still in an immature stage of development and are enclosed in the stamen. After emptying the pollen, the flower enters the female phase. The stamens curve downwards. The now ripe red branches of the style spread out radiantly. Their insides, which are covered with scar papillae, now move into the center of the flower and are accessible to pollinators. The stigmas are thereby preferably pollinated with pollen from another plant of the same species, so that self-pollination only occurs in exceptional cases.

Most pollinators are bumblebees . However, bees , hover flies and bumblebees also appreciate the abundant nectar on offer . The hidden nectaries are located at the base of the stamens.

Ripe and unripe fruit
Ripe fruits

Fruit and seeds

The up to 1 centimeter large, disc-shaped, bald split fruit is deepened in the middle and has even lines around the longitudinal axis. The outer calyx is thrown off in the course of the ripening process, whereas the five sepals lengthen and finally completely envelop the ripe fruit. After ripening is complete, the split fruits disintegrate along the partitions into ten to twelve single-seeded, kidney-shaped partial fruits (small nuts) with a hard consistency and a pitted, network-like structure. The long-lived brown and kidney-shaped seeds have a length and width of about 2.5 mm.

Spread

The spread of the partial fruits is closely linked to rainy weather. When wet, the calyx swells up due to water absorption, opens and exposes the ripe fruit to the rain. Due to the force of the falling raindrops, the partial fruits are separated from each other and spread with the water ( ombrochory ). Since the nuts swell when wet and thus become slimy-sticky, they can be spread via animals to whose fur they cling.

Chromosome set

The chromosome set is diploid and is 2n = 42.

Synecology

Weevil Malvapion malvae at the base of the stamen of the wild mallow
Common fire bug on wild mallow fruit

The wild mallow is used as a caterpillar forage plant for various types of butterflies, such as the mallow thick-headed butterfly ( Carcharodus alceae ), the steppe heather cube-headed butterfly ( Pyrgus carthami ) and the light brown owl ( Noctua interjecta ). Larvae of specialized weevil species were also identified as users. The two-colored mallow shrew ( Malvapion malvae ), a species of beetle from the family of shrew weevers , uses the wild mallow as a breeding plant. Its larvae develop in the plant's ovary, and pupation takes place in the seeds. The longhorn bee Eucera macroglossa , which is protected by the Federal Species Protection Ordinance, is particularly dependent on the wild mallow. It feeds on flowers of a few closely related genera ( oligolectic ) and covers its pollen and nectar needs exclusively with mallow plants. Various insects such as bees or earwigs adopt the wild mallow flowers as a place to sleep. The seeds of the wild mallow are often sought out by the sociable fire bug . It sucks on the fruits and is often found in large numbers at the base of the mallow plant; however, it does not cause any significant damage.

Diseases

The mallow leaf vein potyvirus (English Malva vein clearing virus, MVCV ) is transmitted by mechanical inoculation by tube aphids of the species Aphis umbrella (syn. Aphis malvae Koch) and green peach aphid ( Myzus persicae ). The virus occurs in Tasmania , Brazil , the former Czechoslovakia , Germany , Israel , Italy , Portugal , California , Russia and the former Yugoslavia .

The wild mallow is often attacked by the rust fungus Puccinia malvacearum , which forms rust-colored dots on the underside of the leaves. In contrast to other rust fungi, it has a so-called microcyclic character, i.e. i.e. there is no change of host.

Occurrence

The wild mallow originally comes from Asia and southern Europe . Today it is widespread throughout southern and central Europe. Their occurrence extends north to central Sweden and southern Norway. The areas of distribution include Madeira , Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Dagestan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, the former Czechoslovakia, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Poland, Belarus , the Baltic States, Moldova, Ukraine, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece.

The wild mallow thrives on dry, nitrogen- and nutrient-rich soils up to altitudes of 1,800 meters. They are mainly found on roadsides and fences, on wasteland and in sparse forests. It is regarded as a characteristic of the order Onopordietalia acanthii (donkey thistle fields), but also occurs in societies of the associations Arction lappae (burdock fields) and Sisymbrion (short-lived ruderal fields) .

Systematics

Mauritanian mallow ( Malva sylvestris subsp. Mauritiana ) in June

Malva sylvestris was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum , 2, p. 689. There are a large number of synonyms for Malva sylvestris L .: Althaea godroni Alef. , Althaea vulgaris Aleph. , Malva ambigua cast. , Malva elata Pomel , Malva elata Salisb. , Malva equina Wallr. , Malva erecta C. Presl , Malva glabra Desr. , Malva grossheimii Iljin , Malva gymnocarpa Pomel , Malva hirsuta Presl , Malva sylvestris var. Incanescens Griseb. , Malva longelobata Sennen , Malva longepedunculata Sennen , Malva obtusa Moench , Malva orientalis Mill. , Malva plebeia Stev. , Malva polymorpha cast. , Malva racemosa Presl , Malva recta Opiz , Malva ruderalis Salisb. , Malva simpliuscula Steud. , Malva sinensis Cav. , Malva sylvestris var. Oxyloba Post , Malva tetuanensis Pau , Malva tomentella Presl , Malva vivianiana Rouy , Malva vulgaris Ten. , Malva vulgaris S.F. Gray

From Malva sylvestris several subspecies and varieties have been described:

  • Malva sylvestris var. Eriocarpa Boiss. can be found from Italy eastwards to the Himalayas, Central Asia and China.
  • Actual wild mallow ( Malva sylvestris L. subsp. Sylvestris )
  • Algiers mallow ( Malva sylvestris subsp. Mauritiana (L.) Boiss. , Syn .: Malva mauritiana L. ), also called garden mallow or Mauritanian mallow, has a distribution from the Iberian Peninsula to Italy and Algeria.
  • Moroccan wild mallow ( Malva sylvestris subsp. Subacaulis ) Maire : It is in Morocco one endemic in the Atlas Mountains (Djebel Tachdirt, Djebel Ghat, Jebel Siroua).
Dried mallow in the form of the flower drug

use

Use in medicine

Structural formula of the diglucoside malvin

Mostly leaves and flowers are used. The main components of the leaves are mucilage (5–12%). These are made up of sugar molecules such as galactose, glucose and glucuronic acid. They also contain flavonoids in the form of sulfates in smaller quantities . The flowers have almost the same amount of mucilage in a composition similar to that of the leaves. They also contain anthocyanins such as Malvin . The mucous substances of the drug lay down as a protective film over the mucous membranes and thus develop a calming effect. In herbal medicine, extracts of the plant are used to treat inflammation of the mouth, throat and gastrointestinal area. The extracts are also used for colds and dry coughs. The seeds of the mallow ( semen malvae ) were also used in medieval medicine . Already in antiquity, components of the wild malva were used against bladder pain with bloody urine, nerve pain and "side pain" as well as fresh wounds and ulcers in the groin. The absorption of other medicinal substances can be reduced by using mallow preparations. Therefore, there should be an interval of at least one hour between taking mallow-containing drugs and other drugs.

Use as a dye and indicator

The species' flowers have long been used as a natural yellow dye . Cream, yellow, and green dyes are also extracted from the entire plant and seeds. The flowers are also used in the food industry to color various products. Dyes from the flowers of the mallow result in a rosewood tone in wool that is not stained with ala .

A tincture of Malva sylvestris can be used as a sensitive acid-base indicator ; in the presence of alkalis , the tincture turns blue.

Use as an ornamental plant

Cultivar 'Purple Satin'
The cultivar 'Zebrina' selected for its striped petals

The wild mallow is often cultivated as an ornamental plant in the garden because of its attractive flowers, which it produces long-term during the summer . It has been in culture since around 1587 and prefers sunny to partially shaded locations. Numerous cultivars were selected and named.

Examples of cultivars of Malva sylvestris are: 'Alba', 'Annita', 'Aurora', 'Bardsey Blue', 'Blue Fountain', 'Brave Heart', 'Cottenham Blue', 'Gibbortello', 'Harry Hay', ' Highnam ',' Inky Stripe ',' Knockout ',' Magic Hollyhock ',' Mest ',' Mystic Merlin ',' Perry's Blue ',' Purple Satin ',' Richard Perry ',' Tournai ',' Windsor Castle ', 'Zebrina' and 'Zebrina Zebra Magis'.

Cultivar Groups:

  • Malva sylvestris L. Mauritiana group: Malva mauritiana was previously recognized as a subspecies whose range is the Iberian Peninsula , Italy and Algeria . Garden plants are often called Malva sylvestris var. Mauritiana and belong to a cultivar group that includes the following varieties: 'Bibor Felho', 'Moravia'
  • Malva sylvestris L. Canescens group: Every part of the plant except the flower is covered with white, woolly hair. This group grows in the region around Montpellier in France and in the Balearic Islands . Some botanical works of the 19th century call it Malva sylvestris var. Canescens .
  • Malva sylvestris L. Sterile-Blue-Group: Vegetatively propagated pale violet-blue flowering cultivars: 'Marina Dema', 'Primley Blue'; dark violet-blue flowers: 'Maria's Blue Eyes'.

Use in the kitchen

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. They are slimy with a mild, pleasant taste. In soups, they act as a thickener. The young leaves can be used in salads. The unripe seeds are used raw for nibbling; they taste nutty. The flowers can be added to raw salads as a decoration. Due to their mild taste and the texture similar to the leaves, they make an addition to the salad bowl. The leaves can be used as a tea substitute.,

Use as a possible energy plant

The Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture in Veitshöchheim is conducting investigations on test fields to determine whether wild plants as energy crops represent a realistic alternative to corn cultivation . After extensive preliminary investigations it was found that u. a. Wild mallow, mugwort and tansy come into question in terms of yield and environmental compatibility. The use of wild plants for biogas production would have a positive effect on the landscape compared to the cultivation of maize, it would significantly reduce the use of fertilizers and chemical pest management, would provide year-round habitat for wild animals and cause less soil erosion with high yield security and gas yield at the same time. Further investigations are pending.

The wild mallow in popular beliefs and customs

If you wanted to test the fertility of a woman, it was recommended to water the plant with her urine. If after three days there were no signs of withering, children could be expected.

There was also a widespread belief that lice would develop if the fruit was consumed in abundance.

In some areas (e.g. Franconian Switzerland) on the feast of the Assumption of Mary on August 15th, healing, beautiful to look at and well scented herbs are collected for herb bushes. In addition to the wild mallow, there is a herb bush z. B. from Dost , devil bite , field pansy , goose fingerweed , marigold , silver thistle , ormennig , chamomile , peppermint , yarrow or mullein . These herb bushes are blessed during the herb consecration on the feast of the Assumption. After the blessing, the tufts are dried and placed in the living room, for example. They are supposed to protect the house residents from lightning, illness and other hardships. In order to allow guests and cattle to enjoy the beneficial effects, the meal is seasoned with sprinkles of herbs from the bush on special occasions and the animals are fed the previous year's root tufts.

More pictures

  • Dark blue flowering form 'Maria's Blue Eyes'

  • Mauritanian mallow

  • Dark-flowered culture form

References and further information

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Malva sylvestris L., Wild Malve. In: FloraWeb.de.
  2. ↑ Ruprecht Düll , Herfried Kutzelnigg : Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany. A botanical-ecological excursion companion to the most important species. 6th, completely revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-494-01397-7 , p. 300.
  3. ↑ Database of biological-ecological characteristics of the flora of Germany http://www.ufz.de:80/biolflor/taxonomie/taxonomie.jsp?action=filter&ID_Familie=45&ID_Gattung=489&ID_Taxonomie=1942 ( Memento from December 12, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Stewart Robert Hinsley: Malva sylvestris (section Malva, in part) at The Malva Pages . , accessed April 9, 2011.
  5. ↑ Shrew weevil - Malvapion malvae (Fabricius, 1775). In: The beetle fauna of southwest Germany. Working group SWD Coleopterologists, accessed on February 7, 2011.
  6. ↑ Butterflies, caterpillars and forage plants. Special edition of the kestrel, bulletin of the Bern Bird Protection BVS, spring 2008.
  7. ↑ Solitary bee species: Longhorn bees (Eucera & Tetralonia). In: Wildbienen.de.
  8. ↑ Profile 214: Wild Mallow. In: Profiles of the particularly recommended guide species. Department Agriculture and Forest, site of the canton of Lucerne.
  9. ↑ The wild mallow as a forage plant. In: Floraweb. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation .
  10. ↑ Ruprecht Düll, Herfried Kützelnigg: Pocket dictionary of plants in Germany. A botanical-ecological excursion companion to the most important species. 6th, completely revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Wiebelsheim 2005, ISBN 3-494-01397-7 , p. 300.
  11. ↑ Hans Pfletschinger: Insects. Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1989, p. 24, ISBN 3-440-06073-X .
  12. ↑ Kurt Heinze: Phytopathogenic viruses and their carriers. Duncker et al. Humblot, Berlin 1959, p. 170.
  13. ↑ Malva vein clearing potyvirus. Plant Viruses Online. University of Idaho ( Memento of December 28, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ).
  14. ↑ B. Classen, F. Amelunxen and W. Blaschek: Ultrastructural Observations on the Rust Fungus' Puccinia malvacearum 'in' Malva sylvestris ‛ssp. 'mauritiana ‛. In: Plant Biology. Vol. 3, 2001, pp. 437-442.
  15. ↑ Malva sylvestris in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
  16. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  658-659 .
  17. ↑ Volker Zimmermann: The Heidelberg Pharmacopoeia Ysack Leuj. Contributions of Jewish Doctors to Medieval Medicine. Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 2018, ISBN 978-3-515-12174-3 , p. 63.
  18. ↑ Hans Zotter : Ancient medicine. The collective medical manuscript Cod. Vindobonensis 93 in Latin and German. Academic printing and Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1980 (= Interpretationes ad codices. Volume 2); 2nd, improved edition, ibid. 1986, ISBN 3-201-01310-2 , pp. 110-113 (on Malva silvatica ).
  19. ^ Liberty Hyde Bailey: Cyclopedia of American agriculture: a popular survey of agricultural conditions, practices and ideals in the United States and Canada, In Four Volumes. Volume II - Crops, Macmillan Publishers, 1910.
  20. ↑ a b Malva sylvestris at Plants For A Future . Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  21. ↑ Eberhard Prinz: Dye Plants. Instructions for staining, use in culture and medicine. Verlag Schweizerbart, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-510-65258-7 , p. 194.
  22. ↑ Maud Grieve: MALLOW, BLUE. Botanical: Malva sylvestris (LINN.) In A Modern Herbal, 1931, Botanical.com.
  23. ^ Eckehart J. Jäger, Friedrich Ebel, Peter Hanelt, Gerd K. Müller (eds.): Rothmaler Exkursionsflora von Deutschland. Volume 5: Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants . Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg 2008, pages 257-258. ISBN 978-3-8274-0918-8
  24. ↑ Energetic utilization of seeds rich in herbs in the agricultural landscape and in the settlement area. Final report on the research project, October 22, 2012. Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture.

Sources used

Web links

Commons : Wild Mallow ( Malva sylvestris )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files