Alliaria petiolata

Scientific Name: Alliaria petiolata
Common Name: Garlic Mustard

Non-native garlic mustard—an unwelcome visitor who won't go away without persistent weeding BEFORE those flowers go to seed.
Photographer: Erin Jones, courtesy of NatureServe

Find out more on NatureServe Explorer

Search for photos of this species within the NatureServe Flickr photo stream.


Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a highly invasive non-native species that threatens the health of natural communities in areas it infests. The many tiny white flowers give way to elongated slender pods that burst open and scatter dozens of seeds. If you don't pull up that white-flowering plant before it goes to seed this year, be prepared to welcome hundreds more next spring!