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THE TARGET
Garlic Mustard
Alias: Alliaria petiolata
This fast-spreading weed is very invasive and is threatening natural areas throughout the park system. Garlic mustard starts growing earlier in the season than Wisconsin's other native plants and outcompetes them. It spreads rapidly in wooded areas, forming tall, dense stands that smother native wildflowers, and native tree and shrub seedlings.
Garlic mustard is a winter annual herb that generally grows 2-4 feet tall. The lower leaves are kidney-shaped with scalloped edges. Leaves feel hairless, and the root has an "S" or "L" shape just below the stem base. In spring, roots and new leaves smell like garlic, and small, four-petal white flowers appear clustered at stem ends, followed by long, skinny seedpods.
Garlic mustard spreads by seed and can self-pollinate. It can produce up to 500 seeds per plant, and the seeds can survive in the soil for up to 7 years, making it hard to eliminate.
View Garlic Mustard Identification Sheet
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