Palm-leaf-marshmallow

Althaea cannabina, commonly called palm-leaf marshmallow or hemp-leaved marshmallow, is a tall herbaceous perennial in the Malvaceae family reaching up to 1.8 m in height and 1.5 m in spread. The plant develops a stout woody rootstock from which numerous erect, branching, softly hairy stems arise each year. Leaves are alternate, long-petioled, and deeply palmately divided into three to seven narrow lance-shaped serrate lobes that recall those of hemp (Cannabis), accounting for the specific epithet. From July through September the plant bears axillary clusters of pink to rose five-petalled hermaphroditic flowers approximately 2-3 cm across, each subtended by an epicalyx of narrow bracts and pollinated by bees. The stems contain bast fibres historically used for cordage and paper but considered brittle. Native to southern Europe, the Balkans, and western Asia, it grows in damp meadows, riverbanks, and waste ground on a wide range of soil types in full sun.