Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

GARLIC MUSTARD

File Size: 83 KB

Alliaria petiolata (M. Bieb. ) Cavara & Grande

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Biennial

Height: 12-42 inches

Family: Brassicaceae - Mustard Family

Flowering Period: April, May, June

Stems:

Erect, unbranched or few-branched from base, glabrous or with few simple hairs.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple; basal leaves stalked, upper leaves sessile; stalks .2 to 2.4 inches long; lower blades kidney-shaped, 2.4 to 4 inches long; stem leaves triangular to heart-shaped, 1.2 to 3.2 inches long and wide, progressively smaller upwards; margins coarsely toothed; tips pointed.

Inflorescences:

Racemes, terminal or sometimes in leaf axils.

Flowers:

About 1/3 inch across; sepals 4, oblong-elliptic, 1/8 to 1/6 inch long, ascending, shed soon after flower opens; petals 4, spatulate, 1/12 to 1/4 inch long, white; stalks short, stout; stamens 6.

Fruits:

Pods, linear, 1 to 2.5 inches long, spreading, nearly straight, 4-angled when dry; seeds nearly cylindric, 1/10 to 1/8 inch long, black, ridged.

Habitat:

Moist woods, roadsides, flood plains, cultivated fields, gardens, waste area; disturbed, mostly shaded sites; calcareous soils.

Distribution:

East 1/3 of Kansas.

Origin:

Introduced from Europe. Thought to have escaped from gardens in the 1800s and now naturalized. Planted in gardens as a potherb and for its medicinal properties.

Reproduction:

By seeds.

Forage Value:

Livestock will seldom eat garlic mustard due to its odor. Cattle that have grazed it will produce milk with a garlic flavor.

Uses:

In Europe, it was used as a garlic substitute, in salads or cooked as a potherb. It was also used medicinally to treat asthma. Ground-foraging birds eat the seeds.

Comments:

Garlic mustard is highly invasive in moist, shaded sites. It may rapidly threaten native flora. The seeds may persist in the ground for several years. The foliage has a garlic-like odor when crushed.

Garlic mustard leaves