Mallow: A Plant of Surprises

It didn't do to get ill or injured in the past. Something quite trivial, a sharp thorn in a finger, a blister or cut, could escalate and be life-threatening, and surgery was brutal.

Luckily, something as commonplace as mallow, which grows in St. Peter's churchyard, was as good as a medicine chest. Wisdom passed down through generations over hundreds of years, knew that mallow could help with burns, coughs, colds, tonsillitis, digestive problems, eczema, cut wounds, diarrhea and urinary problems. Perhaps Forncett parishioners would have gathered the flowers and leaves in the churchyard when a family member was ill.

Herbal medicine has been in practice for centuries and the use of mallow can be traced back 3,000 years. Today scientific and medical studies have confirmed its many healing properties and vitamin content. It has chemical compounds that treat cancer, it is anti-microbial and anti-flammatory and can in certain cases, protect kidneys and liver.

It is possible that it arrived here from the Holy Land during the Crusades.

 

Reference: National Library of Medicine