Malvaceae

Mallow Family

Crested Anoda

FAMILY: Mallow family (Malvaceae) – Anoda genus.

SPECIES: Crested or spurred anoda (Anoda cristata (L.) Schltdl. = Anoda hastata Cav. = Sida cristata L.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Leaves (and presumably the flowers) of crested anoda are edible fresh or cooked. Crested anoda appears in response to summer rainfall and wilts soon after blooming. The flowers are purple and only a few occur on each plant. Flower stalks and sepals should be removed because they’re covered with irritating hairs. Other parts of the flowers, specifically the petals, stamens, and pistils, are free of irritating hairs, but these parts are tedious to gather. The flavor, texture, and appearance are consistent with other flowers in the mallow family, which tend to be sweet, mild, and mucilaginous. Like the flowers, the leaves also taste agreeable and similar to mallows. The texture is hairy and mucilaginous. Boiling softens the raspy hairs, but they remain annoying, so these leaves don’t make the best potherbs. Immature fruits look like green wheels of hairy cheese. Overall, crested anoda is a wild food of relatively minor importance in the southwestern United States, except in places where it grows abundantly. It’s much more common in Mexico, where it’s encouraged to grow and gathered as a green leafy vegetable from places like the margins of cultivated fields.

NOTES: Finding crested anoda took longer than I expected. I believe that any plant designated as a “weed” should be easy to find. However reasonable this expectation may seem to a forager, it’s often untrue. These so-called “weeds” may be restricted to certain habitats, such as agricultural fields, rangelands, roadsides, or disturbed areas. Beyond those places, most weeds are no more common than ordinary plants. Some are a menace, but crested anoda is a “well-behaved” weed. My search for it finally ended along Coal Creek in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico.

IDENTIFICATION: The Anoda genus is represented by 7 species in the United States, all of which are found primarily in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Most species, except for crested anoda (A. cristata), are rare.

Description of crested anoda (Anoda cristata): FORM sparsely hairy, annual plant about 10-80 cm tall; LEAVES simple; alternate; blades triangular in outline; margins lobed and coarsely toothed; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged individually or in clusters; calyces 5-lobed, subtending bractlets absent; petals 5, free, and purple; pistils 1, compound; styles several; stigmas head-like; stamens numerous; filaments fused into columns; FRUITS schizocarps doughnut-like, consisting of 8-20 segments that eventually split apart; each segment with a long spur, a single seed, and rough hairs; walls of the segments lacking a netted pattern; HABITAT streams, meadows, roadsides, and disturbed areas at mid elevations; primarily in Arizona and New Mexico, also in locations scattered across the southern United States; blooming August to October in response to rain.

REFERENCES: Crested anoda (Anoda cristata): leaves Ebeling (pp. 763-764) and Minnis (2000 p. 198).

Fivespots

FAMILY: Mallow family (Malvaceae) – Eremalche genus.

SPECIES: White fivespots or white mallow (Eremalche exilis (A. Gray) Greene = Malvastrum exile A. Gray).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Leaves and flowers of white fivespots are edible after preparation. Other species are not reported to be edible.

White fivespots (E. exilis) is often described as a food of desperate times, but the leaves and flowers may deserve a more favorable status, at least when based on flavor. Fresh leaves have a grassy aroma and should not be eaten due to the presence of irritating hairs. These leaves are not for salads. Even after thorough boiling, the hairs remain irritating, which probably accounts for the negative reviews. Cooked leaves taste mild. Members of the mallow family often become slimy when boiled due to the presence of mucilage. Leaves and flowers of white fivespots become mushy, but not slimy. Stems remain tough, so removing them prior to cooking is wise. Irritating hairs limit the potential of this plant to serve as food. The irritation is uncomfortable rather than unbearable, consisting of a brief scratching in the throat. Itching, burning, or swelling may also occur, so caution is advised. Eating small amounts at first to determine tolerance would be prudent. Most hairs remain attached after boiling. Disposing of them is not so easy. The broth is true green and pleasantly flavorful. It’s also very thin. Don’t bother trying to thicken soups with these leaves. Washing is advisable to remove the abundance of drifting sand that inevitably gets caught in the hairs. Desert winds cover everything with sand. White fivespots ranks low in all categories except flavor.

Desert fivespots (E. rotundifolia), which is not reported to be edible, was assessed during the fieldwork conducted for this reference. It’s been said that all desert wildflowers without milky or colored sap are edible (United States Air Force p. 245). Desert fivespots inhabits the harshest terrain the Southwest has to offer, so anything that might serve as a source of calories in such an area is worth knowing about. At best, desert fivespots would be a dire resource. Only the petals and inner flower parts would be suitable for consumption. Irritating hairs cover the other parts. Removing the sepals is tedious, as they tend to resist removal. All parts are securely attached. Flowers usually break at the stalks. After gathering a supply of miscellaneous flower debris, a forager can expect some reasonably good flavor immersed in slime. Despite the texture, salads seem to benefit from the addition of these flowers. The petals are sweet, slightly fruity, and free of harsh flavors. Healthy plants produce numerous flowers and bloom over a period of several weeks. Considering all the issues with desert fivespots and the lack of specific references to confirm its edibility, searching for alternative resources would be a better option.

IDENTIFICATION: Only 3 species of the Eremalche genus are found in the United States, all of which are endemic to the southwestern United States.

Description of white fivespots (Eremalche exilis): FORM low-lying annual plant; stems about 5-35 cm long; LEAVES simple; alternate; stalked; blades rounded in outline, palmately lobed, and about 9-25 mm in diameter; margins toothed (crenate); surfaces hairy (stellate); FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged individually in the leaf axils or a few in clusters; calyces 5-lobed and subtended by 3 narrow bractlets; petals 5, free, white; pistils 1, compound; styles several; stigmas head-like; stamens numerous; filaments fused into columns; FRUITS schizocarps doughnut-like, consisting of 9-13 uniform segments; surfaces wrinkled; seeds 1 per segment; HABITAT deserts; southern California, Nevada, and Arizona; blooming February to May.

Description of desert fivespots (Eremalche rotundifolia): FORM upright annual plant about 7-55 cm tall; stems bristly (hirsute); LEAVES simple; basal and alternate; long-stalked; blades round to kidney-shaped, 10-60 mm in diameter; margins toothed (crenate); surfaces hairy (stellate); FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, globe-shaped, and arranged individually in the leaf axils or many in clusters; stalks well developed; calyces 5-lobed and subtended by 3 narrow bractlets; petals 5, free, pinkish-purple, each with a darker reddish-purple basal spot; pistils 1, compound; styles numerous; stigmas head-like; stamens numerous; filaments fused into columns; FRUITS schizocarps doughnut-like, consisting of 20-35 uniform segments; surfaces pitted; seeds 1 per segment; HABITAT deserts; southern California, Nevada, and Arizona; blooming March to May.

REFERENCES: White fivespots (Eremalche exilis): leaves Kirk (pp. 220-221) and Moerman (p. 110); flowers Kirk (pp. 220-221).

Mallows

FAMILY: Mallow family (Malvaceae) – Malva genus.

SPECIES: #1 common, dwarf, roundleaf, or button mallow (Malva neglecta Wallr. = Malva rotundifolia auct. non L.). #2 cheeseweed or smallflower mallow (Malva parviflora L.). #3 curly mallow (Malva verticillata L. = Malva crispa (L.) L.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Warning! Mallows contain excessive amounts of mucilage and may have a laxative action. All species of the Malva genus are reported to have edible roots, shoots, leaves, flower buds, flowers, and young fruits (Couplan pp. 140-141). A few species, including cheeseweed (M. parviflora) and curly mallow (M. verticillata), have been cultivated as leafy vegetables at various times in history (Hanelt pp. 1614-1617). Despite their mucilaginous texture, they were esteemed vegetables. All species currently in North America are native to Europe, Asia, or northern Africa. Soon after their introduction to North America, Native Americans incorporated the leaves and immature fruits of various species into their diets.

Common mallow (M. neglecta) is a good wild food. The roots are starchy, but very chewy, while the leaves, flowers, and immature fruits have a pleasant flavor. Raspy hairs and excessive mucilage may subtract from common mallow’s appeal, but cooking can compensate for the loss. Although the various parts are edible raw or cooked, they are better cooked, at least in my opinion. After simmering, the leaves have a pleasant flavor similar to a combination of spinach, okra, and green beans. Simmering softens the raspy hairs, but they can still be annoying. Mucilage imparts thickness to the broth, perhaps a little too much thickness. Leaves and flowers are tender. Young fruits are also tender, but soon become hard as they mature. Roots are sweet, starchy, white, and chewy. They’re free of mucilage and harsh flavors. Due to the abundance of chewy fibers, common mallow roots are more gum-like than food-like. Generous amounts of starch are mixed in with the fibers. Deriving flour from these roots is difficult. Stone grinding the dried roots produces a pile of fibers void of any flour to sift. Chewing out the starch is easier than trying to make flour. Common mallow roots make a superb gum, much better than anything the sunflower family has to offer. Fresh or cooked root pieces are equally suitable for chewing. The flavor is a combination of potatoes, parsnips, and characteristics unique to mallows. Overall, common mallow can serve as a salad ingredient, potherb, or chewing gum.

Cheeseweed (M. parviflora) leaves make a fine addition to soups or stews. After brief boiling, they lose all structural integrity and become a flimsy pile of mush, somewhat like canned spinach or seaweed. Although the texture may not sound very inspiring, the flavor is appealing. Cheeseweed leaves are free of unpleasant qualities, except for the stalks, which may be chewy or hairy. Removing the stalks is recommended. Young and old leaves taste equally good. Young leaves are suitable for salads. Plants in the mallow family have a reputation for being mucilaginous. Cheeseweed is relatively low in mucilage. Since this “weed” continues to grow even after producing fruits, fresh leaves are almost always available. Young fruits resemble tiny wheels of cheese (except for being green). These so-called “cheese wheels” make an interesting vegetable. They develop soon after the flowers wither. The texture of young fruits can be rather coarse and chewy, and it becomes even harder as the fruits age. Older fruits, even some that are still green, are unsuitable to use as food. Gathering is best done when the fruits first appear or shortly afterward. Additional crops should follow since these plants bloom almost throughout the year. Cheeseweed readily colonizes disturbed areas in the Southwest, especially in agricultural districts. Overall, it’s an excellent wild food.

Curly mallow (M. verticillata) as well as high mallow (M. sylvestris) and other species of the Malva genus may occasionally enter the southwestern United States, but they have never established, so they’re of no significance to southwestern foragers. Worldwide, curly mallow is of great significance and may one day be cultivated again, but only the species described above are currently available in the Southwest.

IDENTIFICATION: The Malva genus is currently represented by about 10 species in the United States, none of which are native. Only the 2 described below are well established in the Southwest.

Description of common mallow (Malva neglecta): FORM small, low-lying, annual or perennial plant; stems about 10-50 cm long; LEAVES simple; alternate; stalked; blades rounded or kidney-shaped in outline with 5-7 palmate lobes; margins toothed (crenate); surfaces hairy; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged individually or 2-4 clustered in the leaf axils; stalks short or long; calyces 5-lobed and subtended by 1-3 lanceolate bractlets; petals 5, free, white, pink, or purple, longer than the sepals, and notched at the tips; pistils 1, compound; styles several; stigmas thread-like rather than head-like; stamens numerous; filaments fused into tubes; anthers borne below the summits of the stamen tubes; FRUITS schizocarps doughnut-like, consisting of 10-15 smooth-haired segments lacking beaks; HABITAT fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas; nearly throughout the United States; blooming primarily from April to October.

Description of cheeseweed (Malva parviflora): FORM upright, annual plant about 20-80 cm tall; LEAVES simple; alternate; stalked; blades rounded or kidney-shaped in outline with 5-9 palmate lobes; margins toothed (crenate); surfaces hairy or hairless; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged individually or 2-4 clustered in the leaf axils; stalks short or long; calyces 5-lobed and subtended by 1-3 lanceolate bractlets; petals 5, free, white, pink, or purple, small, about equal to the sepals, and often notched at the tips; pistils 1, compound; styles several; stigmas thread-like rather than head-like; stamens numerous; filaments fused into tubes; anthers borne below the summits of the stamen tubes; FRUITS schizocarps doughnut-like, consisting of 10-15 netted segments lacking beaks; HABITAT fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas; scattered throughout the western United States, especially common in the Southwest; blooming primarily from March to June.

REFERENCES: Francois Couplan (pp. 140-141) states that the roots, shoots, leaves, flowers, and unripe fruits of all species in the Malva genus are edible. #1 common mallow (Malva neglecta): entire plant Vizgirdas (p. 112); leaves, flowers, and young fruits Duke (p. 124) and Kallas (pp. 101-128). #2 cheese weed (Malva parviflora): leaves and young fruits Clarke (pp. 186-187) and Facciola (p. 148). #3 curly mallow (Malva verticillata): shoots and leaves Facciola (p. 148).

Checkermallows

FAMILY: Mallow family (Malvaceae) – Sidalcea genus.

SPECIES: New Mexico checkermallow (Sidalcea neomexicana A. Gray).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Leaves of New Mexico checkermallow are edible after cooking. Upper and lower leaves look radically different, but they taste the same. Cooking is necessary because the surfaces are covered with raspy hairs. Some people may consider the hairs harmless, while others may find them irritating. Younger leaves have softer hairs than older leaves. Hairs on the leafstalks are tougher, so removing the leafstalks is wise. After boiling, the flavor is mild, lettuce-like, and characteristic of plants in the mallow family. It’s not an acrid or bitter flavor. The texture is completely chewable and moderately slimy. The resulting broth is true green and ideal for soups or stews. Leaves of New Mexico checkermallow make an excellent potherb. However, the plants are sparsely leafy. They often grow in colonies in moist fields or mountain meadows, but gathering a meaningful amount would be tedious and the return in calories may not justify the effort. Although New Mexico checkermallow is common, its use as food among Native Americans appears to be infrequent, possibly for the reasons just mentioned or the availability of better leafy vegetable options. New Mexico checkermallow is a summer-autumn resource that inquisitive foragers may want to investigate when exploring the southwestern wilderness.

NOTES: A closely related species of the southern Rocky Mountains called white checkermallow (Sidalcea candida A. Gray) produces leaves that taste very similar to those of New Mexico checkermallow, but they are not reported to be edible. I gathered white checkermallow from a colony along Wildcat Creek in south-central Utah. Based on flavor, it would qualify as edible, but flavor alone is certainly not an acceptable basis for establishing the edibility of a plant, nor is the fact that another species in the genus, dwarf checkermallow (Sidalcea malviflora (DC.) A. Gray ex Benth.) of California and Oregon, has edible leaves. Consuming plants without a well-documented history of edibility is risky, but sometimes I wonder why certain plants were never documented. I also wonder why a comprehensive evaluation to determine all the plants that could potentially serve as food for the human race has never been conducted, but that’s beside the point. For whatever reasons, white checkermallow eluded the ethnobotanical record and other species of the Sidalcea genus seem to be of minor importance.

IDENTIFICATION: The Sidalcea genus is represented by about 25 species in the United States, of which only New Mexico checkermallow (S. neomexicana) is well established in the Southwest. Most species are native to California.

Description of New Mexico checkermallow (Sidalcea neomexicana): FORM upright perennial plant about 30-110 cm tall from fleshy taproots; LEAVES simple; alternate; blades of 3 designs, all rounded in outline, but highly variable in depth and width of lobes; lower blades rounded, unlobed, and with crenate margins; middle blades palmately lobed; upper blades palmately divided into 5-9 linear segments; surfaces of all leaves usually hairy; FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged in long racemes; calyces 5-lobed, hairy, and not subtended by bractlets; petals 5, free, and purple; pistils 1; styles several; stigmas linear rather than head-like; stamens numerous; filaments fused into tubes; FRUITS schizocarps doughnut-like and consisting of 6-10 one-seeded segments with beaks; HABITAT fields, mesas, and meadows; New Mexico to Wyoming and westward to California and Oregon; blooming June to October.

REFERENCES: New Mexico checkermallow (Sidalcea neomexicana): leaves Couplan (p. 141), Ebeling (p. 505), and Kirk (p. 27).

Globemallows

FAMILY: Mallow family (Malvaceae) – Sphaeralcea genus.

SPECIES: #1 desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua A. Gray). #2 narrowleaf or copper globemallow (Sphaeralcea angustifolia (Cav.) G. Don).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: Warning! Globemallows are potentially unsafe. Hairs covering the various parts can be very irritating, especially to the eyes. They evolved in part to deter herbivores by causing inflammation.

Globemallows are a questionable wild food. References to the edibility of these plants are infrequent. Francois Couplan in “The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America” indicates that the Hopi Indians of northeastern Arizona chewed the mucilaginous stems of narrowleaf globemallow like gum. David Rhode in “Native Plants of Southern Nevada” notes that Native Americans ate the seeds and immature fruits of desert globemallow. William Dunmire and Gail Tierney in “Wild Plants of the Pueblo Province” indicate that all globemallows have edible fruits and that the seeds of various species have been recovered from archaeological sites in a context suggesting they were regularly eaten. And finally, according to the “U.S. Air Force Survival Handbook” on page 245, all desert flowers without milky or colored sap are edible.

NOTES: Seeds and flowers of a few globemallows were sampled for this reference, but no young fruits were sampled. Seeds of other species could taste very similar or very different. Based on the seeds I sampled, no part of the flavor indicated the presence of any food value. It was a bitter, nasty, distasteful flavor that seemed more appropriate for medicine than food, and cooking failed to improve it. Actual seeds are contained within crunchy shells. Separating the shells is difficult and impractical, and the dust created by winnowing the mess can be extremely irritating to the eyes and lungs. Globemallow seeds can probably be crossed off the list of potential wild foods. Globemallow flowers, which are not reported to be edible, except as noted above, tasted considerably better than the seeds. Based on the flowers I sampled, globemallow flowers have a fleeting sweetness that makes a fine addition to salads, but the texture is rather slimy due to an overabundance of mucilage. Vibrant shades of orange, pink, and purple provide a dash of color. Only the petals, stamens, and pistils are free of irritating hairs. Stalks and sepals are best removed and discarded. Gathering a supply of the preferred parts is tedious, but at least a supply is available. Globemallows are abundant throughout the Southwest, and their globe-shaped flowers are distinctive.

IDENTIFICATION: The Sphaeralcea genus is represented by about 25 species in the United States, all of which are native to the Southwest.

Description of globemallows (the Sphaeralcea genus): FORM annual to perennial plants; STEMS low-lying, upright, simple, branching, or sometimes woody toward the bases; LEAVES simple; alternate; usually with stalks and stipules; blades variable, commonly ovate in outline with palmate lobes and toothed margins, ranging to deeply dissected; surfaces often wrinkled and hairy (stellate); FLOWERS regular, perfect, ovary superior, and arranged individually, or in axillary clusters, or in long panicles; calyces 5-lobed and usually subtended by 3 thread-like bractlets; petals 5, free, orange, red, white, pink, purple, and other colors; pistils 1; styles numerous; stigmas head-like; stamens numerous; filaments fused into columns; FRUITS schizocarps doughnut-shaped to nearly globe-shaped, consisting of 6-32 deeply notched segments lacking wings but sometimes beaked; upper parts of the segments smooth, lower parts net-veined; HABITAT deserts, valleys, and foothills nearly throughout the western United States; blooming February to October.

REFERENCES: Dunmire (1995 pp. 187-188) states that immature fruits of all species in the Sphaeralcea genus are edible. The United States Air Force (p. 245) states that all desert flowers without milky or colored sap are edible. #1 desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua): seeds and immature fruits Rhode (pp. 82-83). #2 narrowleaf globemallow (Sphaeralcea angustifolia): stems (chewed as gum) Couplan (pp. 141-142) and Ebeling (p. 505).