Bis­(melaminium) dl‐malate tetrahydrate

The crystal structure of the title melaminium salt, bis(2,4,6‐tri­amino‐1,3,5‐triazin‐1‐ium) dl ‐malate tetrahydrate, 2C₃H₇N₆⁺·C₄H₄O₅²⁻·4H₂O, consists of singly protonated melaminium residues, dl ‐malate dianions and water mol­ecules. The melaminium residues are connected into chains by four N—H⃛N hydrogen bonds, and these chains form a stacking structure along the c axis. The dl ‐malate dianions form hydrogen‐bonded chains and, together with hydrogen‐bonded water mol­ecules, form a layer parallel to the (100) plane. The conformation of the malate ion is compared with an ab initio molecular‐orbital calculation. The oppositely charged moieties, i.e. the stacks of melaminium chains and hydrogen‐bonded dl ‐malate anions and water mol­ecules, form a three‐dimensional polymeric structure, in which N—H⃛O hydrogen bonds stabilize the stacking.