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 or nothospecies. One of the parents is most likely "Paeonia peregrina. The other parent is one of the group of very closely related species, Paeonia parnassica, P. arietina and P. humilis. Both these parents are tetraploids themselves. "P. officinalis" has by far the most extensive range and is one of the more abundant species in the Mediterranean region. The common peony is known from the south of France, through Switzerland to the middle of Italy. 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