The _Althæa Officinalis_, or Marsh Mallow, is called by the Greek authors Ἀλθαία, by the Latin, Hibiscus. Theophrastus says, that it went also under the name of wild mallow[192]. Whilst the Common Mallow, though highly esteemed for its medicinal virtues, was principally regarded as a substantial article of food; the Marsh Mallow, on the contrary, seems to have been rarely used except as an article of the Materia Medica[193]; and, as its peculiar properties were likely to be more matured in the wild than cultivated state, it does not appear to have been grown in gardens[194]. Theophrastus describes it by comparing it with the Common Mallow, and mentions its application, both internally and externally, as a medicine[195]. Dioscorides (_l._ iii. _c._ 139.) gives similar details. Besides mentioning the proper name of the plant in Greek and in Latin, he calls it, “a kind of wild mallow.” Palladius (_l._ xi. _p._ 184. _Bip._) explains “_Hibiscus_” to be the same as “_Althæa_.” See also Pliny, _l._ xx. _c._ 14. _ed. Bip._ Virgil alludes to the use of it as fodder for goats, and as a material for _weaving baskets_[196]. [192] Hist. Plant. l. ix. cap. 15. p. 188. Heinsii. [193] Calpurnius (Eclog. iv. 32,) mentions the “Hibiscus” as used for food, but only by persons in a state of great destitution. [194] At a later period, however, we find the Althæa Officinalis under the name of “_Ibischa Mis-malva_” in a catalogue of the plants, which Charlemagne selected for cultivation in the gardens attached to his villas. See Sprengel, Hist. Rei Herb. i. 220. [195] Hist. Plant. l. ix. cap. 19. p. 192. ed. Heinsii. [196] Eclog. ii. 30. and x. 71. See Servius, Heyne, and J. II. Voss., _ad loc._ The Hemp-leaved Mallow, _Althæa Cannabina_, is once mentioned by Dioscorides (_lib._ iii. _c._ 141.). Giving an account of hemp, he distinguishes between the cultivated and the wild. He says of the wild hemp, that the Romans called it _Cannabis Terminalis_[197]. After mentioning the medical properties of the plant, Dioscorides says, that its bark was useful for making ropes. The truth of this observation will be apparent to every botanist. The plants belonging to the natural order _Malvaceæ_ are all remarkable for the abundance of strong and beautiful fibres in their bark[198]. [197] Meaning literally Hedge-hemp. [198] We have the following testimony respecting the actual fabrication of mallow-cloth in modern times: “Nous avons vu à Madrid, chez le savant pharmacien D. Casimir Ortéga, de ces tissus, qui nous ont semblé fort remarquables. Ils étaient faits avec l’écorce des _Althéas officinalis_ et _cannabina_, et avec celle du _Malva sylvestris_.” Fée, Flore de Virgile, Paris 1822, p. 66.