Garlic Mustard

[Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara & Grande]

Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)

seedlings ▲▼

young plants ▲▼

flowering plants ▲▼

flowers and seeds ▲▼

Garlic Mustard: (p. 188-189, Weeds of the Great Plains; not in Weeds of the Northeast)

·         new weed in Southwest Missouri, spreading rapidly

·         biennial or winter annual weed, germinating in late fall to late winter, flowering in mid to late spring and dying by summer

·         first year rosette leaves are dark green and kidney shaped with scalloped edges and 2-3" in diameter

·         flowering stem-leaves are alternate, sharply toothed, and triangular in shape

·         leaves produce a distinct garlic odor when crushed, although mature plants have less odor.

·         flowers are white in clusters at the top of the plant

·         reproduces very rapidly by seed, rapidly replacing native plants

·         found in moist, fertile soils, wetland areas, open woodlands and savannahs