Mallow-wort, Malope trifida, is an attractive annual flower in the Malvaceae native to the Mediterranean region. It is occasionally found on seed racks as an ornamental, but there is not much information beyond that. It is in the mallow family, a family with many edible species and very few toxic members. Okra, durian, linden, mallows, baobabs, and more – all edible. It closely resembles some known edible relatives, like Malva sylvestris, but it is not in same genus.
Oddly enough, the most prominent member of the Malvaceae that is known to be toxic is cotton. Cotton is a part of the mallow family that contains gossypol, a toxin that is known to reduce fertility (the Chinese government tested it extensively as a male birth control pill, but stopped due to toxicity concerns) and the concentrated chemical can be fatal in large amounts (beyond what you might get from eating a few leaves or even a bowl of cooked greens). Despite this, cotton leaves are edible in moderate amounts and the oil has even been used to cook, though not without effect: lowered fertility in men who cooked with it is what prompted those studies. Even one of the more toxic members of the mallow family does have edible uses.
Malope trifida is not very closely related to cotton, however. Cotton is in the subfamily Gossypieae, while Malope is a part of the Malveae. Relatives and both members of the subfamily Malvoideae, but not exactly siblings. There is reason to believe that only the Gossypieae can actually produce gossypol, and there are not many other toxic species in the subfamily. Malope is also more closely related to Malva than it is to cotton, and Malva species are almost universally edible (the ones that aren’t are not toxic, just unpalatable).
In addition to this, Malope flowers are generally regarded as being edible by gardeners, but there is very little credible information beyond just online chatter. This might make one think that this means the plant is generally safe for consumption, but flowers are generally not eaten in massive amounts. A plant can only really be considered safe if it can be eaten in decent quantity, and the most appealing part of the Malope plant are the rather shiny and tender leaves.
I am not wiling to say definitively that Malope trifida is edible. What I am willing to say is that I ate both flowers and leaves and found that they taste almost the same as some other mallows, bland and kind of mucilaginous. I might not be willing to eat a large bowl of them every day, due to the lack of record of their edibility, but I have added them to salads with no negative consequences. I strongly suspect the whole Malope plant is edible, but I think before I can recommend anybody eat it there needs to be some record of historical consumption or more knowledge about its biochemistry.
Note: Don’t take my word on any of this. Do your own research, and do not eat large amounts of cotton or Malope. There are plenty of known edible relatives to choose from.