Althaea (plant) rose water. "Pâte de guimauve" more closely resembles contemporary commercially available marshmallows, which no longer contain any actual marshmallow. The root's emulsifying property is used for cleaning Persian carpets in the Middle East. It is regarded as the best method to preserve the vibrancy of vegetable dyes used in coloring the carpet's wool. Althaea (plant) Althaea is a genus of 6–12 species of perennial herbs native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It includes "Althaea officinalis", also known as the marshmallow plant, whence the fluffy confection got its name. They are found on the banks of rivers and in
Saponaria officinalis and in brewing to create beer with a good "head". In India, the rhizome is used as a galactagogue. In the Middle East, the root is often used as an additive in the process of making the popular sweet, halvah. The plant is called () in Arabic, in Turkish, and is utilized to stabilize the oils in the mixture or to create a distinctive texture of halvah. "S. officinalis" contains the flavone saponarin. Saponaria officinalis Saponaria officinalis is a common perennial plant from the carnation family (Caryophyllaceae). This plant has many common names, including common soapwort, bouncing-bet, crow soap, wild