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 plant" or "wild hyssop". The common name "blue vervain" is also sometimes used, but also refers to "V. hastata". And of course, being the only member of its genus in much of its range, it is also simply known as "the vervain" locally. The common names of "V. officinalis" in many Central and Eastern European languages often associate it with iron, for example: Common vervain was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus his 1753 "Species Plantarum". The scientific name references the Ancient Roman term "verbena", used for any sacrificial herb considered very powerful (as described e.g. by Pliny the Elder). "Officinalis",