Description
Potentially Misidentified Species- Kosteletzkaya virginica (Seaside Mallow) is native; with similar flowers, but different leaves, and is widespread in brackish marshes. Hibiscus moschoetos (Swamp Mallow, Rose Mallow) is also native, but has much larger flowers (Brown and Brown 1984).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Magnoliopsida | Malvales | Malvaceae | Althaea |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1875 | Established | Stable | Introduced | Regular Resident | Europe | Eurasia | Ornamental(Garden Escape),Shipping(Dry Ballast) |
History of Spread
Althaea officinalis(European Marsh Mallow ), native from the Mediterranean to southern Scandinavia (Swedish Natural History Museum 2001) may have been imported very early as a medicinal food and ornamental plant (Bigelow 1814; Brown and Brown 1984). Bigelow (1814) wrote, 'This plant grows spontaneously on the marshes at south Boston and is said to be found at other places along the sea coast.' Torrey (1823), Gray (1848), and Robinson and Fernald (1908) reports it as naturalized in saltmarshes in NY and New England. It was not included by Pursh (1814) in his flora for North America (Canada to the Carolinas). Althaea officinalis occurs from MA to VA with scattered occurences inland to MI, ND, and AR (Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998).
Leggett (1875) found Althaea officinalis along roadsides and in ditches near Mobjack Bay VA. Fernald (1939) found 'a large and thoroughly established colony' in the same area (Matthews County), on the 'border of brackish marsh near North'. Harvill et al. (1986, 1992) list it for the 3 VA counties (King and Queen; Gloucester County; Matthews County), all bordering Chesapeake Bay estuarine tributaries. Althaea officinalis is not listed by Shreve et al. (1910) or Sipple (1978) for MD, but Anderson et al. (1968) found it growing in Patuxent River marshes. Brown and Brown (1984) describe it as 'occasionally naturalized in marshes of the Coastal Plain.'
History References - Anderson et al. 1968; Bigelow 1814; Brown and Brown 1984; Fernald 1939; Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Gray 1848; Harvill et al. 1986; Harvill et al. 1992; Leggett 1875; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998; Robinson and Fernald 1908; Shreve et al. 1910; Sipple 1978; Torrey 1823
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | ||||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 13.0 | 0.0 | |
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-meso |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | 600.0 | 600.0 |
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | 900.0 | 900.0 |
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | 1200.0 | 1200.0 |
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
| Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
|||
| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Sugary, mucilaginous material in the root of Althaea officinalis (European Marsh Mallow) was the original source of the eponymous confection (marshmallows). The plant also had medicinal uses in colonial times, as well as being an attractive ornamental (Brown and Brown 1984). 'The whole plant, especially the root, abounds in mucilaginous material, and is much used as a demulcent remedy' (Bigelow 1814). This herb is planted in the National Herb Garden, National Arboretum, with other medicinal plants (Fofonoff personal observations). However, it is apparently rare in the Chesapeake Bay region and has no current economic impacts.
References - Bigelow 1814; Brown and Brown 1984
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Althaea officinalis (European Marsh Mallow) is apparently rare and of no current economic importance in North America. Marshmallows are now made from other ingredients (Fernald et al. 1958).
References- Fernald et al. 1958
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Althaea officinalis (European Marsh Mallow) is probably too rare and local to have had significant impacts on native biota in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Althaea officinalis (European Marsh Mallow) is probably too rare and local to have had significant impacts on exotic biota in the Chesapeake Bay region.
References
Anderson, Richard D.; Brown, Russell, G.; Rappleye, Robert D. (1968) Water quality and plant distribution along the upper Patuxent River, Maryland, Chesapeake Science 9: 145-156Bigelow, Jacob (1814) Florula Bostoniensis., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.
Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.
Fernald, M. L. (1939) Last survivors in the flora of tidewater Virginia, Rhodora 41: 465-504
Fernald, Merritt L. (1950) Gray's Manual of Botany, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Fernald, Merritt L.; Kinsey, Alfred C. (1958) Edible wild plants of eastern North America., , New York. Pp. 177-180
Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.
Gray, Asa (1848) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.
Harvill, A. M., Jr.; Bradley, T. R.; Stevens, C. E.; Weiboldt, T.F.; Ware, D.E.; Ogle, D. W. (1986) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Farmville, VA. Pp.
Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.
Leggett, W. H. (1875) Plants collected near Mobjack Bay, Virginia, Bulletn of the Torrey Botanical Club 6: 48-49
Mills, Edward L.; Scheuerell, Mark D.; Carlton, James T.; Strayer, David (1997) Biological invasions in the Hudson River: an inventory and historical analysis., New York State Museum Circular 57: 1-51
1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse
Resource Management Inc. (1993) National list of plant species that occur in wetlands., , Minneapolis.. Pp.
Robinson, Benjamin Lincoln; Fernald, Merrit L. (1908) Gray's New Manual of Botany., , New York. Pp.
Shreve, Forrest M.; Chrysler, M. A.; Blodgett, Frederck H.; Besley, F. W. (1910) The Plant Life of Maryland, , Baltmore. Pp.
Sipple, William S. (1978) An atlas of vascular plant distribution species for tidewater Maryland, , Annapolis, Maryland. Pp.
Torrey, John (1823) A flora of the north and middle sections of the United States, , New York. Pp.