Witnessed by: Unani
Hollyhock (Althaea rosea), of the Malvaceae family. Tall biennial or perennial mallow with rounded lobed leaves and large funnel flowers on a single spire; native range: of the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia; cultivated as a garden flower across the world. Globally recognized as gul-e-khatmi in Urdu, khatmi in Persian, and hollyhock in English. The part used is flowers, also root and leaf. Soft mucilaginous flowers, bland and slippery, faintly sweetish.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
HOLLYHOCK
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- hollyhock
- Scientific name
- Althaea rosea (L.) Cav.
- Family
- Malvaceae
Form
- Part used
- flowers, also root and leaf
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Unani
- mucilaginous · bland
Temperature
- Unani
- temperate
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Unani
- lungs · kidneys · bladder
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Unani
- mulattif (demulcent), munzij (concoctive), munaffis-e-balgham (expectorant) and mudirr (diuretic)
Cautions
- Toxicity
- none of note in customary use
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