December 4, 2004
Garlic Mustard, Allaria petiolata
You may have noticed, that, despite the onset of winter, a carpet
of green grows beneath the trees in the area of Blacks Nook.
This lush-looking ground cover is garlic mustard, one of the seriously
invasive alien plants that is marching across New England.
In the early spring these same biennial plants will shoot up to a height
of several feet, producing small, white, 4-petaled flowers that quickly
develop numerous seeds. The plants grow so densely that no other plants can compete.