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GARLIC MUSTARD (Alliaria petiolata )

Description

• Basal rosette leaves (first year), dark green and kidney-shaped, 2 to 4 inches in diameter with scalloped edges.
• Stemmed plants (second year) 1 to 3 feet tall, leaves 1 to 3 inches wide, smaller toward top, small white 4-petaled flowers.
• Young crushed leaves of both stages have garlic smell.
• Origin--Northern Europe

Distribution

• Occasionally to commonly found throughout the region, especially in moist areas with productive soils.
• Can invade fields, forest edges, & dry areas.

Threat

• Forms dense ground cover excluding native herbaceous plants in deep forests.
• Spreads quickly by flooding and animals, and is hard to control once invasions have occurred.

Control

• Pull or cut small infestations before spring seed set.
• Continuous monitoring necessary for five years.
• Pull early spring and late fall rosettes or treat with glyphosate or tryclopyr (Garlon 3a). Burning helps control plant.

Links to sites with additional information on Japanese Honeysuckle

• The Plant Conservation Alliance's Alien Plant Working Group: Weeds Gone Wild--Garlic Mustard
• Invasivespecies.gov (the gateway to Federal efforts concerning invasive species)--Garlic Mustard
• U.S. Forest Service's Pest Alert--Garlic Mustard
• Invasiveplants.net at Cornell University--Garlic Mustard
• Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council--Garlic Mustard

References: Wildland Invasive Species Team, The Nature Conservancy