Althaea officinalis the English common name "mallow". Most of the mallows have been used as food, and are mentioned by early classic writers with this connection. Mallow was an edible vegetable among the Romans; a dish of marsh mallow was one of their delicacies. Prospero Alpini stated in 1592 that a plant of the mallow kind was eaten by the Egyptians. Many of the poorer inhabitants of Syria subsisted for weeks on herbs, of which marshmallow is one of the most common. When boiled first and fried with onions and butter, the roots are said to form a palatable dish, and in
Paeonia officinalis Paeonia officinalis Paeonia officinalis, the common peony, or garden peony, is a species of flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, native to France, Switzerland and Italy. It is an herbaceous perennial growing to tall and wide, with leaves divided into 9 leaflets, and bowl-shaped deep pink or deep red flowers, in diameter, in late spring (May in the Northern Hemisphere). "Paeonia officinalis" was first used for medicinal purposes, then grown as an ornamental. Many selections are now used in horticulture, though the typical species is uncommon. "Paeonia officinalis" is still found wild in Europe. The cultivar 'Rubra Plena' (deep crimson