Minnesota Wildflowers


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Garlic Mustard

Plant Info
Also known as:
Scientific name:Alliaria petiolata
Family:Mustard (Brassicaceae)
Life cycle:biennial
Origin:Europe
Habitat:part shade, shade; woods, edges of woods, along roads
Bloom season:spring
Plant height:1 to 4 feet
Spotted in Ramsey County at:

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Detailed Information

Flower: regular shape round cluster
[photo of flowers] Flowers are in a rounded cluster 1 to 3 inches across, at the top of the plant. Individual flowers are about 1/3 inch across, 4 rounded white petals and short green stamen with greenish yellow tips. The cluster elongates as the plant matures.
Leaves: alternate attachment simple type
[photo of leaves] Leaves in second year plants are up to 3 inches long and wide, generally heart shaped with large rounded irregular teeth and leaf stems that become shorter as leaves ascend the stem. Leaves at the top of the plant are smaller and more triangular. The leaves smell like garlic when crushed. First year plants have just a rosette of smaller round or kidney shaped leaves with scalloped edges.
Fruit:
[photo of seed pods] Fruit is a thin pod to 2 inches long, containing a single row of numerous black seeds. The pods usually curve up, but may be more horizontal.
Notes:

Garlic Mustard is a highly aggressive invasive species. One plant produces hundreds of seeds and can infest a forest within just a few years. It forms large colonies, crowding out native species and destroying habitat and food source for wildlife. It prefers the dappled sunlight of wooded areas, but may grow in sunnier locations. First year seedlings can be mistaken for violets.

Of special note is that I've just discovered what looks like the first Garlic Mustard growing at Long Lake Regional Park and have taken on the job of trying to eradicate it before it becomes a blight. If you see any Garlic Mustard in that park, please email me and let me know where you found it. Many thanks for your help in keeping this evil plant under control.

More photos

More white wildflowers. Photos taken at Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park, Coon Rapids, MN May 2007 and 2008

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Linda
on: 2008-06-02 11:33:23

I noted that you are trying to eradicate garlic mustard (a very nice edible plant) from your park.

Isn't there some way you can allow people (who eat wild foods, such as myself) to "eradicate" it for you from the park?

There are many wild edible plants that can be used by hungry people (such as myself) and which can be "eradicated" for you for free.

Posted by: K Chayka
on: 2008-06-02 14:07:46

Hello Linda,
Thank you very much for your message. It never occurred to me that garlic mustard might be beneficial in any way. I certainly have no objection to people harvesting it for food, and am glad of any assistance in ridding local parks of the stuff.

I just want to mention, though, that I am not working on my own to control this invasive species in my favorite park, but in cooperation with Ramsey County Parks and Recreation. I volunteered to stop the spread at Long Lake Park while it is still possible to control it, and am doing it with their permission. However, there are many other parks in Ramsey County that have widespread populations of the stuff. There is plenty of garlic mustard to go around, and no doubt will be for many years.

Harvesting garlic mustard as food does have to be done correctly to prevent spreading it any more than it already does. Let me know how I can help. And thanks again for writing

Posted by: randy b.
on: 2008-06-18 22:16:07

This plant is horrible. You can't possibly eat it all. It is taking over Crosby Park in St. Paul. In the last two years it has increased rapidly.

I am seeing it all over so I don't know how we can get rid of it all. I pulled three big garbage bags from the hill behind my home this spring and there was still more. I caught it while it was flowering but I know it will be back again next year.

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Note: All comments are moderated before posting to keep the riff-raff out. An email address is required, but will not be posted—it will only be used for information exchange between the 2 of us (if needed) and will never be given to a 3rd party without your express permission.

Please: Do not ask about controlling invasive species, are plants edible, where to buy seed or other gardening questions. I am not a horticulturist or botanist, just an enthusiastic hobbyist so I probably don't know the answer. Please check the links page for additional resources. -thanks much



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