marsh mallow

noun

1. an Old World mallow, Althaea officinalis, having pink flowers, found in marshy places.
2. the rose mallow, Hibiscus moscheutos.

marsh mallow

noun

1. a malvaceous plant, Althaea officinalis, that grows in salt marshes and has pale pink flowers. The roots yield a mucilage formerly used to make marshmallows
2. another name for rose mallow

Word History and Origins

Origin of marsh mallow¹

before 1000; Middle English marshmalue, Old English merscmealwe. See marsh, mallow

Example Sentences

The most famous “mallow” plant is the wetland marsh mallow.

From Washington Times

The oldest ingredient in the s'more’s holy trinity is the marshmallow, a sweet that gets its name from a plant called, appropriately enough, the marsh mallow.

From Salon

In ancient days, people dug marsh mallows — bushes that grow near swamps and rivers, including the Potomac — out of the ground as an edible vegetable, and they boiled the roots into a syrup.

From Washington Post

The setting agent As the name suggests, the first marshmallows were set with the mucilaginous root of the marsh mallow plant, which McGee describes as “the weedy relative of the hollyhock”.

From The Guardian

Nettles, marsh mallows, and every weed that was not immediately hurtful, were eagerly sought after and devoured by the famished people.

From Project Gutenberg