Mustard Root Alliaria petiolata
Other Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- al-ee-AR-ee-uh pet-ee-oh-LAH-tuh
- This plant is an invasive species in North Carolina
- Description
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Garlic mustard is an herbaceous, biennial, flowering plant in the mustard (Brassicaceae) family. It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, and Africa and was introduced to North America as a culinary herb in 1860. It has become invasive in many states in the USA as it spreads by rhizomes and seeds. It is often found in damp hedgerows, edges of woods and other shady places in the wild. In the landscape, Garlic Mustard tends to crowd out the native wildflowers that bloom during the spring.
Garlic mustard prefers partial sun to medium shade, moist to mesic conditions, and loamy fertile soil.
In the first year of growth, plants form clumps of round to heart-shaped leaves. The next year plants flower in the spring, producing button-like clusters of cross-shaped white flowers with four petals. The 4-inch-long fruit is a four-sided elongated pod A single plant can produce hundreds of seeds, which scatter as much as several feet from the parent plant. Crushed leaves smell like garlic.
Controls include pulling the plants by their roots and spraying the foliage with herbicides. Cutting the flowering stalks down before blooming may need to be done more than once during the year. Dispose of plants by placing them in plastic bags or burning them.
Please choose native plants. See a list of shady ground covers to the left.
Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known disease or pest issues. Listed as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council and several other states as well.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Alliaria
- Species:
- petiolata
- Family:
- Brassicaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Biennial
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Europe, western and central Asia, and Africa
- Wildlife Value:
- Attracts wildlife
- Edibility:
- All parts of the plant, are edible. The roots smell like horse radish and can be cut up and used in soups and stews. Young leaves can be chopped and used in salads, sauces or pesto. The seeds can also be saved and used to season food.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- High
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Brown/Copper
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Siliqua
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is a four-sided elongated pod (1 1/2 to 2 inches long). It starts out green and matures to gray-brown. Inside are two rows of shiny black seeds which are released when the pod splits open mid-summer. A single plant can produce hundreds of seeds, which scatter as much as several feet from the parent plant. This plant often forms colonies by reseeding itself.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Cross
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- In the second year of growth, the upper stems terminate in narrow racemes of button-like clusters of cross shaped white flowers with four petals. While in bloom, these flowers are bunched together toward the top of the raceme. However, as the flowers mature and develop seedpods, the raceme becomes more elongated and they become more separated.
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Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Rough
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Rosulate
- Leaf Shape:
- Cordate
- Orbicular
- Leaf Margin:
- Dentate
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- In the first year of growth, plants form clumps of round to heart-shaped (2 inches long and wide), coarsely toothed leaves. The alternate leaves of 2nd-year plants are triangular in shape with serrated margins and 3 inches long by 2 inches wide. When the leaves are crushed, they smell like garlic.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- The stems of 2nd year plants are occasionally hairy, otherwise they are glabrous like the blades of the leaves.
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Landscape:
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Moths
- Problems:
- Invasive Species
- Weedy
