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Musk Mallow Wikimedia Commons
Malvaceae

Musk Mallow

Malva moschata

Delicate sweetness.

Family
Malvaceae
Genus
Malva
Native to
Europe, Southwestern Asia
Bloom season
Summer, Fall
Type
herbaceous
Height
1-3 ft
Sunlight
full sun to partial shade
Soil
well-drained, average to poor
Water
low to moderate
Hardiness
3-8
Lifespan
perennial

Did you know

  • Its name 'moschata' comes from the faint musk scent released when the leaves and stems are crushed.
  • Unlike common mallow, musk mallow has deeply divided, fern-like leaves that give it an especially airy appearance.
  • The white-flowered cultivar 'Alba' won the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.
  • It self-seeds freely and can naturalize along roadsides and meadow edges within just a few years.
  • Medieval monks planted musk mallow in monastery gardens as both a medicinal herb and a source of fiber for cordage.

Color meanings

0

delicate beauty

1

sweetness

2

consumed by love

Uses

  • ornamental border plant
  • herbal tea
  • wildlife garden
  • traditional medicine