Hollyhock

(Althaearosea (L.) Cav., Malvaceae)

Also Called: Garden Hollyhock.

Description: Tall perennial or biennial plant producing in the first year a basal rosette of leaves, followed in the second or sub­sequent years by an erect, stout, hairy, flowering stem greater than 2m (6ft) high, rarely branched.
Leaves with long petioles, broadly cordate, 5-7­lobed or angled, more or less deeply incised, hairy.
Flowers, which may exceed 10cm (4in) in diameter, on short peduncles in the axils of leaves, may be simple or double.
Herbalists prefer the double flowers.
The simple flowers have 5 petals and numerous stamens; the colour varies from pale pink or yellow to dark purple; for pharmaceutical purposes the dark purple flowers are generally used.
Flowering: June-October.

Part Used: Dried flowers either with or without calices.

Habitat and Cultivation: The species is not native to Europe but is one of our oldest cultivated plants.
It is grown from seeds, which may be planted out in autumn in sheltered areas.
Flowers are collected in the second or subsequent years on a dry day and dried in the shade below 60 C (140 F).
Yield: 6-16kg (13-361b) of flowers with calyx per are (120 sq yd). (The maximum yield of flowers is from 2nd and 3rd year plants; the yield from older plants is lower.)

Constituents and Action: Mucilage, traces of volatile oil and of tannin; also, in the dark­coloured flowers, an antho­cayanin pigment.
Anti-inflammatory and mild purgative.
Its action as a cure for coughs is doubtful.

Usage: Almost always as a tisane, generally in mixtures, for bronchitis and at times as a mouthwash.
Rarely as a mild purgative, an action that is weak and uncertain.
The dark-coloured flowers are used to colour wine.