Swedish Mallow (Malva sylvestris) - so named by our illustrator Goda who also produced the seeds - is more frequently referred to as Common Mallow or French Hollyhock. An easy to grow annual or biennial with edible foliage; flowers make a blue tea.
In suitable conditions, the plant can grow up to 6ft tall, with multiple stalks covered in luminous purple blooms for several weeks in early summer. The immature seed pods make for a refreshing mucilaginous snack in the garden.
Goda calls the plant “Swedish” because she first encountered it in friends’ gardens in northern and northeastern Europe - it’s likely popular there because it does well with a short summer season, and can germinate without excessively hot temperatures. That said, it appears to be a happily adaptable plant that has also grown easily in the hotter climates of Philadelphia and South Jersey, and likely originated in the Mediterranean and SWANA regions.