Garlic Mustard

Alliaria petiolata

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae (Cabbage)

Also in this family:

Annual Wall Rocket, Black Mustard, Charlock, Common Scurvygrass, Common Whitlowgrass, Creeping Yellowcress, Cuckooflower, Dame's-violet, Danish Scurvygrass, Dittander, Field Pennycress, Greater Cuckooflower, Greater Periwinkle, Greater Swinecress, Hairy Bittercress, Hairy Rock-cress, Hedge Mustard, Hoary Stock, Honesty, Horseradish, Isle of Man Cabbage, Large Bittercress, Lesser Swinecress, Marsh Yellowcress, Oilseed Rape, Purple Rock-cress, Sea Radish, Sea Rocket, Shepherd's Purse, Smith's Pepperwort, Sweet Alyssum, Tall Rocket, Thale Cress, Wallflower, Watercress, Wavy Bittercress, Wild Radish, Wintercress

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Biennial

Maximum Size:

1 metre tall

Habitats:

Hedgerows, woodland.

Flower:

White, 4 petals

Tiny 4 white petals with yellow centres.

Fruit:

Long, thin, slender pod which arches upwards and contains numerous seeds. The seed pods have 4 blunt edges.

Leaves:

The light green, stalked leaves are variable in shape from round to kidney or heart-shaped. Their margins are irregularly wavy.

Aroma:

The whole plant smells of half mustard and half garlic, hence the reason why it is called Garlic Mustard.

Other Names:

Garlic Root, Garlicwort, Hedge Garlic, Jack-by-the-hedge, Jack-in-the-bush, Mustard Root, Penny Hedge, Poor Man's Mustard, Sauce-alone, Skyut.

Frequency (UK):

Abundant

Similar Species:

Winter Heliotrope

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map