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
Althaea (mythology) and Deianeira the progeny of Althaea and the god Dionysus. In some accounts, Ancaeus was called her son by the god Poseidon. Althaea is especially celebrated in ancient story about the fate of her son Meleager; they became the cause of each other's deaths. When Meleager was born, the Moirai (the Fates) predicted he would only live until a brand, burning in the family hearth, was consumed by fire. In Aeschylus' "Libation Bearers" Althaea is mentioned by the Chorus of captive slaves, serving women of Clytemnestra, in a recollection of 'hatreds that stopped at nothing'. Meleager grew to be a