garlic mustard: Alliaria petiolata (Capparales: Brassicaceae)

garlic mustard
Capparales > Brassicaceae > Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara & Grande
Synonym(s): garlic-mustard, hedge garlic, sauce-alone, jack-by-the hedge, poor man's mustard, jack-n-the-bush, garlic root, garlicwort, mustard root
Garlic mustard is an herbaceous, biennial forb that is an aggressive invader of wooded areas throughout the eastern and middle United States. First-year plants are basal rosettes with green, heart-shaped, 1-6 in. (2.5-15.2 cm) long leaves. Second-year plants produce a 1-4 ft. (0.3-1.2 m) tall flowering stalk with small, white flowers in the early spring. Plants can be easily recognized by a garlic odor that is present when any part of the plant is crushed and by the strongly toothed, triangular leaves. A high shade tolerance allows this plant to invade high-quality, mature woodlands, where it can form dense stands. These stands not only shade out native understory flora but also produce allelopathic compounds that inhibit seed germination of other species. Garlic mustard is native to Europe and was first introduced into New England during the 1800s for medicinal and culinary purposes.

Identification, Biology, Control and Management Resources

Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the Eastern United States - USDA Forest Service FHTET

Element Stewardship Abstract - The Nature Conservancy

Fire Effects Information System - USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

Invasive Plant Atlas of New England - University of Connecticut

Invasive Plant Manual - Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council

Invasive Plant Responses to Silvicultural Practices in the South - University of Georgia

Invasive Plants and Exotic Weeds of Southeast Alaska - USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region

Invasive Plants Field and Reference Guide - USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area

Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests - USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station

Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas - National Park Service & U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Prescriptions for Specific Nonnative Invasive Plants - USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station

Proceedings: Symposium on the Biology, Ecology, and Management of Garlic Mustard - USDA Forest Service FHTET

Selected Invasive Plants of Alaska - USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region

Weeds Gone Wild Fact Sheets - Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group

Weeds of the Week - USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area, Forest Health Protection

Selected Images from Invasive.org

Click on each thumbnail to download the image at 1536x1024 resolution or below for available resolutions.

Use 768x512 for Microsoft PowerPoint and use 1536x1024 for Prints and Publications.

Foliage; 1st-year basal rosette. Clayton County, IA Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Foliage; first year leaves Jil M. Swearingen, USDI National Park Service, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Plant(s); 1st year rosette Tom Heutte, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Infestation; 1st-year basal rosettes. Clayton County, IA Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Foliage; Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Feature(s); S-shaped crook at base of plant helps to distinguish this species. Martin County, KY Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Flower(s); Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Plant(s); in flower David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Plant(s); in flower Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Plant(s); in flower Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Plant(s); in flower Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Fruit(s); Long,thin, upright seed pods (siliques). Martin County, KY Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Plant(s); Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Infestation; Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Infestation; Understory incursion Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Infestation; Leslie J. Mehrhoff, University of Connecticut, Bugwood.org 768x512	Control; Before control. Part of a before/after volunteer hand-pull control series. See image #2131100 for after image Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Control; After control. Part of a before/after volunteer hand-pull control series. See image #2132001 for before image Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Seed(s); Steve Hurst, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	Diagram or Graphic; Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 2: 170. USDA PLANTS Database, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024

Invasive Reference(s):

Check Invasive.org for most current lists.

Alabama - Noxious Weed Law
Alabama - IPC List
Connecticut - Noxious Weed Law
Georgia - EPPC list
Kentucky - EPPC List
Massachusetts - Noxious Weed Law
New Hampshire - Noxious Weed Law
Oregon - Noxious Weed Law
Rhode Island - Noxious Weed Law
South Carolina - EPPC List
Tennessee - EPPC List
Texas - Invasive Plant List
Vermont - Noxious Weed Law
Virginia - Invasive Alien Plant Species
Washington - Noxious Weed Law
Mid-Atlantic - EPPC List
Invasive Plants: Guide to Identification and the Impacts and Control of Common North American Species
Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest
Invasive Plant Atlas of New England
Invasive Plant Atlas of the Mid-South

Invasive Plants of the United States

garlic mustard

Identification, Biology, Control and Management Resources

Selected Images from Invasive.org

Click on each thumbnail to download the image at 1536x1024 resolution or below for available resolutions.

Use 768x512 for Microsoft PowerPoint and use 1536x1024 for Prints and Publications.

Invasive Reference(s):

Check Invasive.org for most current lists.

External Links


				Bargeron, C.T., C.R. Minteer, C.W. Evans, D.J. Moorhead, G.K. Douce and R.C. Reardon. Technical Coordinators. 2008. Invasive Plants of the United States DVD-ROM: Identification, Biology and Control. USDA Forest Service. Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team. Morgantown, WV. FHTET-08-11.