Garlic Mustard

Garlic mustard is very common in woodlots throughout Calumet County. It has invaded High Cliff State Park, Calumet County Park, the Brillion Wildlife Area, and many private woodlots as well. Garlic mustard is a cool-season biennial herb that ranges from 12 to 48 inches in height as an adult flowering plant. Leaves and stems have the distinctive odor of garlic when crushed. First year plants have a cluster of scallop edged leaves rising 2 to 4 inches in a rosette. Second-year plants produce a flowering stem with small white flowers. Garlic mustard is the only plant of this height in our woods with white flowers in May. Garlic mustard produces hundreds of seeds per plant. The seeds are believed to be dispersed on the fur of large animals such as deer and squirrels, by flowing water and very commonly by human activities.

Garlic Mustard is a rapidly spreading woodland weed that is displacing native woodland wildflowers in Wisconsin. It dominates the forest floor and can displace most native herbaceous species within ten years. This plant is a major threat to the survival of Wisconsin's woodland herbaceous flora and the wildlife that depend on it. Recent research has begun to show that garlic mustard can alter the chemistry of the soil, impacting all woodland plants. For additional information, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/invasives/fact/garlic.htm