Yao Shu Kui

Althaea officinalis, the marshmallow, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Malvaceae, native to brackish marshes, riverbanks, and damp meadows across Europe, western Asia, and North Africa. It grows 1-2 meters tall from a thick, fleshy, branching white taproot rich in mucilage. The erect, downy stems bear alternate, ovate to triangular, softly velvety leaves with 3-5 shallow lobes and irregularly toothed margins. Five-petaled pale-pink to nearly white flowers, 2-5 cm across, are borne in axillary clusters and feature an epicalyx of 6-9 bracteoles below the calyx and a central column of fused stamens. The fruit is a schizocarp of many flat, kidney-shaped mericarps. All parts are notably mucilaginous.