So I stopped and smelled the roses blooming near the I405 on-ramp, like people say to do (don’t worry, there’s a footpath there, meant for creekside rambles). Once I’d done that and turned to go, these large purple flowers popped out at me.
I’m not sure if these are cultivars or some sort of fancy native plant, although I lean towards cultivar. Whatever. I love them regardless, for they are large and purple and blooming in October.
They’re growing on bushy plants that were knee-high or better on me, and had gargantuan leaves to compliment them.
And they’re completely full of pollen, which seems like it would be awesome for the local insects out looking for a good energy boost before winter. I didn’t see what was pollinating them, alas.
I love how the center looks a bit like an anemone. Very awesome.
They’re tall and flamboyant, but practically invisible from the road, for some reason. I didn’t notice them all the times I’ve passed by. It took getting over there on foot to see ’em. If you can, when you can, get out of the steel cages and go see things at a slow pace. It’s amazing what you see.
It’s things like this that take the sting out of fall. This beauty, plus roses and sunshine and kitties in sunbeams, made the day very mellow indeed.
Here in the UK they are known as marsh mallows.
Yep, you have it – Malva sylvestris. Yet another Eurasian import. Very striking, though.
Can you toast them on a campfire?
When my kitten allows me, petting her spotted sun-warmed tummy is one of the world’s joys.
bees
holding in
summer
Indirectly, sure. Several parts o the plant (stem, fruit, seeds, and root) can be processed to produce a mucilage with some medicinal value. The goo has a rather bitter taste, so the Egyptians added honey and use the syrup for sore throats. They would also add ground nuts to make a paste, which was consumed as a confection.
In the 19th century, French pharmacists added the goo to whipped egg whites, creating the first marshmallows. As the medical uses were passed up by modern discoveries, marshmallows became a sweet for the wealthy, because of the labor needed to extract the plant mucilage. in the 1890s, the plant was replaced by a newly discovered process of combining corn starch and gelatin; since then, there has been no marsh mallow in marshmallows.
Heh. I see what you did there.
Lovely photos of a lovely plant. It is correctly ID’ed as Malva sylvestris. The variety ‘zebrina’ is widely available from seed suppliers. It isn’t the same malvaceae that is the main ingredient in marshmallows though, that is a different plant named Althaea officinalis It is a famine food with a long history of human use beyond making candy.
I love this commentariat!!
Aw, I missed a flower ID! I had two turkeys instead, though, so it all works out.
(No marshmallows or marsh mallows, but a whole lot of yellow walnut leaves, too.)