Common Mallow

  This plant is so common, I've never bothered to show it to you. However, tonight it is what you get. This is Common Mallow, Malva neglecta. As you can guess from the name, it grows in neglected waste places. It's also alien to the New World, but there's no going back on this one. It grows low to the ground, sprawling. You'll often find it in your yard.

The leaves are rounded, but you can see several shallow lobes. The color of the flowers got really washed out in the sunshine, but they are pale pink with some faint lavender lines. Five slightly heart-shaped petals,

One of the most fun things about these plants is that they are also called "Cheeses," because of the rounded, flat seed cases. The leaves and stems are also edible, but the little cheeses are a great snack. They are also high in protein. Bring a handful of them home from your next mid-summer walk and toss them in your salad! Sure they are tiny, but so are peas and we put them in salads. Nice crunchies

In other news: It was wet. We got a lot of rain last night. Too wet to work on the trailer at all. I hunkered down and edited. I planned all the rest of Dead Mule Swamp Singer and wrote a chapter. I walked to the Post Office. Of course by then it was hot and humid! My toe is much better- hardly swollen at all, and it didn't bother much on the walk.

See Halberd-Leaved Rose Mallow See Swamp Rose Mallow