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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Terrestrial Invasives
  3. Terrestrial Plants
  4. Garlic Mustard

Garlic Mustard

Scientific Name

Alliaria petiolata (M. Bieb.) Cavara & Grande (ITIS)

Common Name

Garlic mustard, hedge garlic, sauce-alone, jack-by-the-hedge, poor man's mustard, jack-in-the-bush, garlic root, garlicwort, mustard root

Synonym

Alliaria officinalis Andrz. ex M. Bieb. (ITIS)

Native To

Europe (Munger 2001)

Date of U.S. Introduction

First discovered in 1868 (Munger 2001)

Means of Introduction

Cultivated for food and medicinal use (Cavers et al. 1979)

Impact

Crowds out native species (Munger 2001)

Garlic Mustard

Garlic mustard, flowers in May

Credit

Photo by Jody Shimp; Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Source
Invasive.org.

Find more images

Spotlights

  • Garlic Mustard Threatens the Rare West Virginia White Butterfly

    • Mar 9, 2023

    • CAB International. Invasives Blog.

    • Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolate) is a highly destructive invader in North America. As well as hindering the survival of native plants, it poses a particular threat to the survival of the rare West Virginia white butterfly (Pieris virginiensis).

  • Watch for Garlic Mustard Aphids

    • May 2022

    • Indiana Native Plant Society.

    • A European aphid that is only known to eat invasive garlic mustard has recently been found in the Midwest. If you see garlic mustard with curled leaves or aphids, help researchers studying this insect by sending in a report. Because the aphids may help control invasive garlic mustard plants, they are working with citizen scientists to map their distribution.

  • Garlic Mustard in the Midwest: An Overview for Managers [PDF, 4.6 MB]

    • Sep 2021

    • Midwest Invasive Plant Network.

    • MIPN synthesized recent research on garlic mustard and developed recommendations to help managers navigate sometimes-conflicting information about whether and how to prioritize management of this species. This 12 page guide includes a decision-support tree and a box discussion of best practices for volunteer pull events.

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Videos

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Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Council or Task Force
Partnership
Federal Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Citations