marsh mallow

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A shrubby herb, Althæa officinalis, growing in marshy places, especially maritime, in the temperate regions of the Old World, and on the coast of New England and New York. The flowering stalks are two or three feet high, the leaves broadly ovate, the moderate-sized flowers pale rose-color, chiefly in a terminal spike, but some peduncled in the upper axils. The mucilaginous root is used as a demulcent; it also forms the basis of well-known confections. The name has been locally applied to other plants, as Malva sylvestris. See Althæa and althein, and cut in preceding column.
2. n. A paste or confection made from the root of this plant.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. See under Marsh.
2. n. (Bot.) a plant of the genus Althæa ( Althæa officinalis) common in marshes near the seashore, and whose root is much used in medicine as a demulcent.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. European perennial plant naturalized in United States having triangular ovate leaves and lilac-pink flowers
2. n. spongy confection made of gelatin and sugar and corn syrup and dusted with powdered sugar