Emily and I found these mallow flowers near a bike trail in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland.

The fruits of the mallow plant look like little cheesewheels and, in a fun burst of irony, really do taste like cheese!

This isn’t the season to harvest roots, but if you did, you’d notice that Mallow root is super slimy, so it’s good topically to treat burns and other skin irritations. It can also be taken internally to soothe a sore throat or as a laxative to smooth things along in the digestive system. And, even better, you can use the flowers to decorate your braids!