Hedge Garlic in the UK a Noxious Weed Here

It is April 2010 and our local roadsides, waste places and some untended gardens are sprouting with an prolific early-bloomer. It is an herbaceous plant of about a foot high (now) and has heart-shaped, deeply ridged, serrated-eddged leaves as well asa terminal rounded-cluster of four-petaled, white-flowers. Its crushed leaves give off a faint garlic aroma. Its flowers, seeds (in a long pod) indicate it is apparently a member of the mustard family.

Allaria petiolata is a native of Europe and in the UK it grows wild along the oh so common hegerows where is known a "Hedge Garlic" or "Garlic Mustard" or "Jack-in-the-Hedge". Sprouting in early spring, it is often picked as a salad green and used as a substitute for garlic. Its leaves are a component of a well known sauce for roast lamb, a pesto and other delicacies. See:http://www.wildyorkshire.co.uk/naturediary/docs/guest/garlic.html, and http://wildfoodmushroomsfishing.blogspot.com/2010/03/jack-by-hedge-or-garlic-mustard-chicken.html (dl 4-24-10)

Alas here in the US it is viewed very differently.

Alliaria petiolata is seen here as a class A noxious weed which grows in places it is not wanted whether sunny or shaded. It can self or cross polinate and like other mustards produces copious seeds which spread and sprout easily. Like other mustards it produces chemicals which act to inhibit the growth of rival plants or even beneficail soil fungi. Thus it can take over wide swaths of the forest floor where it gets established. (see photo at: http://wildfoodmushroomsfishing.blogspot.com/2010/03/jack-by-hedge-or-garlic-mustard-chicken.html.)

In the state of Washington it faces eradication where it shows its delicate white blooms.

"History and Impacts.

Garlic mustard is an invasive non-native biennial herb that spreads by seed. It is difficult to control once it has reached a site; it can cross-pollinate or self-pollinate, it has a high seed production rate, it out competes native vegetation and it can establish in a relatively stable forest understory. It can grow in dense shade or sunny sites. The fact that it is self fertile means that one plant can occupy a site and produce a seed bank. Plant stands can produce more than 62,000 seeds per square meter to quickly out compete local flora, changing the structure of plant communities on the forest floor. Garlic mustard is also allelopathic, producing chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants and mychorrizal fungi needed for healthy tree growth and tree seedling survival." (dl 4-24-10: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsandplants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/garlic-mustard.aspx)

From the same site, also learn that: "Garlic mustard is a biennial herb that grows to about 3 feet tall. The small, white 4-petaled flowers appear in early spring and seed production soon follows. Seedlings develop into basal rosettes by mid summer. The plants overwinter as a basal rosette with kidney-shaped leaves. When the plants bolt in early spring, the mature leaves are triangular, becoming smaller toward the top of the plant. In early spring the roots and new leaves smell like garlic. Each plant usually produces one flowering stem. If a plant is cut or stepped on, many stems will form. Roots typically have a characteristic s-shaped bend that helps the plant hold on to the soil even on steep slopes with loose soil. Garlic mustard is competitive in a wide range of soils, sun, shade and moisture. It grows in wet soil near creeks and on dry, steep slopes. It can grow under the shade of other plants like nettles or in bright sunny spots. Flowering plants range in size from several feet tall to tiny plants with just a few seed pods. Seeds can last in the soil for at least 10 years."