Garlic Mustard (Jack-by-the-hedge)
Alliaria petiolata
Alliaria petiolata, or garlic mustard, is a biennial flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to Europe, western and central Asia, north-western Africa, Morocco, Iberia and the British Isles, north to northern Scandinavia, and east to northern Pakistan and Xinjiang in western China. It has now become a tenacious invasive plant across the northern U.S., in particular because of its earlier springtime emergence than many native species, often in the forest understory.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
At a glance
- Sunlight
- Partial shade
- Water need
- Medium
- Mature height
- 0.7 m
- Maintenance
- Low
- Hardiness
- USDA 4–8
- Layers
- herb, groundcover
Functional roles
Propagation
How to make more of this plant for free — the permaculture way.
When: Self-seeds (biennial)
Mild garlic-mustard leaves for early-spring greens; food plant of the orange-tip butterfly. Invasive in North America.
Where to get it
Read more
Seed data pending expert review. Identification photo and description are sourced from Wikipedia/Wikimedia; always confirm a plant in person before eating any part of it.