Alliaria petiolata (M. Bieb.) Cavara & Grande
garlic mustard (hedge garlic)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Jamie Fenneman     (Photo ID #6564)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Alliaria petiolata
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Biennial herb from a taproot; stem erect and unbranched below inflorescence, sparsely hairy below, glabrous or with whitish bloom above, 20-120 cm tall; garlic smell, especially from root but also from crushed leaves.
Leaves:
Basal leaves kidney-shaped, slender-stalked; stem leaves heart-shaped (the notch at the base) to deltoid, margins wavy or coarsely toothed, (1.5) 3-6 cm wide.
Flowers:
In simple or compound racemes, often with leafy bracts at base, 6 mm in diameter; petals white, 6 mm long, twice the length of sepals.
Fruits:
Siliques, spreading and curving upward to be almost erect, 4-6 cm long, 2 mm wide, somewhat 4-angled, on thick stalks 4-6 mm long; seeds blackish, 3 mm long.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Habitat and Range

Mesic to dry disturbed sites and waste places in the lowland and lower montane zones; rare in SW and SC BC; introduced from Eurasia.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Alliaria alliaria (L.) Britt.
Alliaria officinalis
Erysimum alliaria L.
Sisymbrium alliaria (L.) Scop.