Common mallow. These plants have cute dark leaves shaped like lily-pads and they like to grow right up on the border of sidewalks, on land that has been disturbed. They are relatives of the European "marsh mallow" plant which - yes - was originally used to make real marshmallows. You can use this plant to make them too, apparently, by boiling the leaves or seed pods in water until it is thick, mixing in sugar, then whipping the mixture up until it has a foamy texture and allowing spoonfuls of it to dry. The leaves and wheel-shaped seedpods are also edible on their own. Okra is in the mallow family, so it's unsurprising that both that vegetable and this plant have a mucilaginous texture when cooked.
The flowers can be white, or light pink-purple, or streaked with both colors, like this one.
Growing alongside the lower-level, east side path at about 122nd street in Morningside Park, Manhattan.
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