Garlic mustard

Garlic mustard (Alliara petiolata) is a common plant throughout Great Britain, being found on the edges of woods, in hedgerows and alongside walls.

The plant grows erect to a maximum height of 48 inches (120 centimetres). The stem is usually unbranched but bears its leaves on stalks. The lower leaves, which form a rosette at the base, are heart-shaped while those higher up are triangular. The leaves are hairy on the underside.

The white flowers appear from April to June. The aroma they give off is unpleasant to humans but attractive to hoverflies and small insects. However, the plant is largely self-pollinating.

The seed-pods, which grow on short stalks, are ribbed and cylindrical. Garlic mustard is a perfect food plant for the orange tip butterfly because the pale green caterpillars are well camouflaged against the seed-pods.

Garlic mustard is a member of the cabbage family, and it is the only one to give off a strong smell of garlic – other such plants, including field garlic, belong to the unrelated lily (Allium) family.

Other names for the plant include “hedge garlic”, “jack-by-the-hedge” and “poor man’s mustard”. It is an edible plant that has been used as a condiment and as a flavouring for fish. It can also be used in salads or made into a sauce.

© John Welford