Mallow (grandmothers' food) the lady of wild plants and herbs

Arab Weather - In such days of the year, wild plants and herbs grow, the most important of which are: mallow, sorrel, sage, thyme, fennel, dandelion, chard, borage, and mustard. The Arab Levant possesses (158) unique species of wild herbs that can be consumed as food.

These plants are the wild genetic origins of currently cultivated plants.

Perhaps the most famous wild food plant is the mallow. The Greeks, especially the mathematician Pythagoras, ate it and considered it a sacred plant that soothes the nerves and relieves psychological stress. The Romans considered it a treatment for all chest and intestinal diseases. Emperor Charlemagne even ordered it to be planted in the gardens of his palace for decoration. The Syrians considered it a winter fruit due to its many nutritional and health benefits, which do not require time to prepare and cook. The mallow leaves and stems are edible fresh or cooked. In the Levant, the mallow leaves are collected with their soft, tender stems, then finely chopped, onions, olive oil and a little salt are added to them, and they are placed on a low heat until they are cooked. Then they are served to be eaten with green onions, olives and green peppers.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of it is that it is a diuretic, a laxative for the stomach and intestines, and helps in healing irritable bowel syndrome.
Mallow grows in Jordan and the Levant in mountainous areas and cultivated lands. It depends entirely on rainwater, which gives it a different taste and flavour.

The process of some citizens picking wild and non-endangered plants and herbs for food purposes will not be harmful to the environment and biodiversity because they are considered renewable plants if the roots of these plants are preserved and they are not uprooted from the ground; and the conditions of sustainable harvesting are respected, including harvesting only two-thirds of the plant and preventing uprooting it from the roots.
The areas where these plants and wild herbs are found require a lot of time and effort, as farmers travel long distances that may exceed several kilometers to reach them.

Perhaps wild plants and herbs are a source of food that is repeated annually on the tables of the poor, farmers, and lovers of healthy, traditional local food.
While some farmers are racing to display more of these wild herbs in designated sheds on the sides of the roads or in popular agricultural markets to display them to customers who have come to see them as an alternative to many high-priced foods and provisions.
A number of civil society organizations in Jordan have done well to hold an annual festival (the Khubeiza Festival) to promote the nutritional and health value of this traditional plant.