Hollyhock Alcea rosea like many members of the mallow family is a useful medicinal plant due to its high content of mucilagin. Mostly associated with flower gardens, it’s a great addition to the herb garden, adding color and beauty, as well as being a suitable substitute for marshmallow Althaea officinalis. Many gardeners assume that hollyhock originates from Europe, however it is a relatively recent European garden introduction, first grown there in the sixteenth century. It actually originates from South China. Here’s our recent post of Hollyhock photographs. Those images with water in the background were naturalized plants growing on the edge of Kotor Bay in Montenegro in the eastern Adriatic.