Alcea, Hollyhock

Hollihock, Tree Mallow
Hubbazza (Unani)
Gul Khera (Ayurveda, flower)
Ha Lo  ཧ་ལོ  (Tibetan)
Picture Kreutterbuch, Matthiolus, 1586

Picture Kohler’s Medizinal Pflanzen, 1887

Botanical name:


Alcea rosea (syn. Althea rosea)
Salmon listed 2 varieties:
  1. Common Hollyhock
  2. Tree Hollyhock
Common Hollyhock has single-flowered and double-flowered varieties. There are several types of the ‘Tree Hollyhock’.

Parts used:


Primarily Flowers; other parts as for Mallows

Temperature & Taste:


Neutral/Cool, moist. Sweet, Pungent (flowers)

Uses:


1. Clears Heat, Stops Leakage and Bleeding:
-Bleeding. hemoptysis, blood in the stool or urine
-Uterine Bleeding (flowers)
-Dysentery, Hernia (Decoction, Dioscorides)
-Leukorrhea (Root, TCM)

2. Clears Heat, Resists Poison:
-Abscess, Boil
-Sore Throat
-Snake Bite

3. Clears Heat, Stops Cough:
-Cough, Bronchitis, Pleurisy

4. Promotes Urine, Clears Stones: (West, Tibet)
-Edema, Burning Urine
-Gravel, Stones (Seeds)
-Ointment applied over the Kidney and Bladder for Gravel and Stones

5. Benefits Qi and Yin:
-increases Qi, nourishes Fluids and Yin

6. Externally:
-Bruises, Burns
-Itch
-Hemorrhoid
-mouth wash and gargle for Mouth Sores, Ulcers and Sore Throat (flower)
-decoction as a fomentation or Ointment to hard swellings including those of the Breast and Uterus
-applied to back pain (Ointment)
-Cramps (Ointment)


Dose:


Flowers: 1–3 grams (heaped teaspoonful) per cup as an infusion
Other parts can be used in similar doses to Mallow and Marshmallow.

Note:
The indications for Hollyhock are basically the same as for Mallow and Marshmallow. A number of Herbals (ie. Botanologia, Salmon), directs the reader to those herbs for the indications of Hollyhock.

Substitute:


Mallow and Marshmallow may substitute Hollyhock (Flower for Flower, Leaf for Leaf, Root for Root, Seed for Seed)

Main Combinations:


1. Cough from Heat and Consumption, Hollyhock seed, Poppy seed, Marshmallow seed, Tragacanth, Licorice (Sabur Ibn Sahl’s Dispensatory, Kahl)
2. Pleurisy from excess Heat, Hollyhock seed, Endive, Lettuce, Maidenhair, Barley, 4 Greater Cold Seeds, Licorice, Jujubes, Violet
3. Stones, Hollyhock seed, Four Greater Cold Seeds, Marshmallow seed, Fennel seed, Jew’s Stone (Sabur Ibn Sahl’s Dispensatory, Kahl)
4. As a gargle:
i. Hollyhock flower, Camomile, Sage
ii. Bistort root, Pomegranate flower, Hollyhock flower (Pharmacopoeia Hannoverana, 1819)
iii. Bistort, Agrimony, Periwinkle, Hollyhock flower, Pomegranate flower (2 oz. each) (Pharmacia rationalis, 1806)
5. Plaster for Dislocations and Trauma of the Joints, Self Heal with Hollyhock root, Frankincense, Myrrh, Shilajit and Turpentine, made into a plaster with Suet and Oil (The Compleat Bone-setter, Turner, 1656)
6. Plaster for Hard Tumors (including Uterus), Hollyhock root with Linseed, Fenugreek, Camomile, Meliot, Mallow, Violet (equal parts)

Major Formulas:



Oil of Seven Flowers:
i. Fresh flowers of Violet, Elder, Rose, Camomile, Lily, Mullein, Hollyhock (1 part each), Olive Oil (6 parts). Boil gently until the humidity has gone, then press. Anodyne and emollient, used for contractures. (Pharmacopoeia Wirtembergica, 1798)

Cautions:


Generally safe.

Main Preparations used: