Althaea officinalis boiled and fried. The root extract (halawa extract) is sometimes used as flavoring in the making of a Middle Eastern snack called "halva". The later French version of the recipe, called ' (or ' for short), included an egg white meringue and was often flavored with rose water. "" more closely resembles contemporary commercially available marshmallows, which no longer contain "Althaea officinalis". Chemical constituents include altheahexacosanyl lactone ("n"-hexacos-2-enyl-1,5-olide), 2β-hydroxycalamene (altheacalamene) and altheacoumarin glucoside (5,6-dihydroxycoumarin-5-dodecanoate-6β--glucopyranoside), along with the known phytoconstituents lauric acid, β-sitosterol and lanosterol. Althaea officinalis Althaea officinalis, or marsh-mallow, is a perennial species indigenous to Europe, Western Asia, and
Verbena officinalis "V. officinalis" as a subspecies or variety. But despite the outward similarity, biogeography alone strongly suggests there is really no justification to include this North American native here, and DNA sequence data agrees. Instead, "V. halei" seems to be closely related to "V. macdougalii", perhaps with some interbreeding with the "V. menthifolia" lineage which might explain its Common Vervain-like traits. Common vervain has been held in high esteem since classical antiquity; it has long been associated with divine and other supernatural forces, and it has an equally long-standing use as a medicinal plant. Herbal capsules are used as a soporific