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Alliaria petiolata - (M.Bieb.)Cavara.&Grande.

Garlic Mustard

Author	(M.Bieb.)Cavara.&Grande.	Botanical references	17
Family	Cruciferae	Genus	Alliaria
Synonyms	Alliaria officinalis - Andrz. ex M.Bieb. Erysimum alliaria - L. Sisymbrium alliaria - (L.)Scop.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Most of Europe, including Britain, south to N. Africa and east to W. Asia and the Himalayas.
Habitat	Damp hedgerows, edges of woods and other shady places, preferring basic soils[7, 13, 17, 244].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

Biennial growing to 1m by 0.4m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) or semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist or wet soil.

Habitats

Woodland Garden; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Deep Shade; Hedgerow; Bog Garden;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers; Leaves; Seedpod.

Young leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb or as a flavouring in cooked foods[4, 5, 9, 12, 62, 115, 244]. A mild garlic and mustard flavour, the leaves are also believed to strengthen the digestive system[244]. They can be finely chopped and added to salads[7, 183]. The leaves are available very early in the year and provide a very acceptable flavouring for salads in the winter[K]. Flowers and young seed pods - raw[62]. A mild, garlic-like flavour[K].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Antiasthmatic; Antiscorbutic; Antiseptic; Deobstruent; Diaphoretic; Sternutatory; Vermifuge; Vulnerary.

Garlic mustard has been little used in herbal medicine[268]. The leaves and stems are antiasthmatic, antiscorbutic, antiseptic, deobstruent, diaphoretic, vermifuge and vulnerary[4, 7]. The leaves have been taken internally to promote sweating and to treat bronchitis, asthma and eczema[4]. Externally, they have been used as an antiseptic poultice on ulcers etc[4], and are effective in relieving the itching caused by bites and stings[244]. The leaves and stems are harvested before the plant comes into flower and they can be dried for later use[238]. The roots are chopped up small and then heated in oil to make an ointment to rub on the chest in order to bring relief from bronchitis[245]. The juice of the plant has an inhibitory effect on Bacillus pyocyaneum and on gram-negative bacteria of the typhoid-paratyphoid-enteritis group[240]. The seeds have been used as a snuff to excite sneezing[4].

Other Uses

Dye.

A yellow dye is obtained from the whole plant[7].

Scented Plants

Plant: Crushed

On a calm day the plant emits a strong smell of garlic. This is especially pronounced if the leaves are bruised.

Cultivation details

Prefers a damp rich alluvial soil[7, 53]. Succeeds in damp shady places where few other herbs will grow[238]. A good woodland edge plant, it also grows well in the bottom of hedgerows[24] and will self-sow freely in suitable conditions[238]. On a calm day the plant emits a strong smell of garlic. This is especially pronounced if the leaves are bruised[245]. This species is an important food source for the orange-tip butterfly[238].

Propagation

Seed - sow outdoors in situ either in spring or autumn.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Winter Salads.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[53] De. Bray. L. The Wild Garden. 0
Interesting reading.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 0
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[268] Stuart. M. (Editor) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism Orbis Publishing. London. 1979 ISBN 0-85613-067-2
Excellent herbal with good concise information on over 400 herbs.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Alliaria petiolata

lnr Mon Nov 28 2005

the leaves taste REALLY good

Alliaria petiolata

Mon May 7 2007

This plant is highly invasive in the united states and should not be propogated there. It is highly allelopathic.

Alliaria petiolata

curi Tue May 8 2007

My cat just stole my sample of this plant, ran off with it, and chewed it up. She loved it.

Alliaria petiolata

Fri Aug 3 2007

Should not be spread in the southern reaches of Canada, from coast to coast.

Alliaria petiolata

Shivani Mon Jan 7 2008

Garlic mustard is one of the most invasive exotics I have ever seen. (Some thoughless person brought it from Europe.) If one plant is allowed to go to seed, an entire wooded area can soon be filled with garlic mustard to the exclusion of all the native plants. Here in Wisconsin our Dept. of Natural Resources warns people about this plant and various groups volunteer to pull it up in parks. The seeds stay viable for many years, however,so the same area will have to have the plants pulled up and destroyed for years before it is eradicated. Don't plant it! Shivani in WI

Alliaria petiolata

Khono Sun May 11 2008

It seems the stems are also edible, according to a friend and the following book: Handbook of Nutrition and Food By Carolyn D. Berdanier I'd also like to add that these plants are delicious and there are loads of them around here (just north of Toronto)!

Alliaria petiolata

Marinella Mon Jun 9 2008

Acta plantarum Alliaria petiolata: Description, photos

Alliaria petiolata

Leah Thu Jul 24 2008

DO NOT PLANT THIS PLANT IN THE U.S. OR CANADA, but do harvest it from the wild! If we over-harvest this weed maybe it can be controlled. A word of caution, however: harvest for food only plants that you are sure have not been sprayed with a herbacide, as is done in many natural areas.

Alliaria petiolata

Khat K. Mon Jul 28 2008

This plant, despite all the wonderful uses, is highly invasive across a great portion of the United States, and as it has been mentioned, should really not be planted as our native plants have little adaptation to successfully compete with it. However, a little scavenging will allow a collector to wind up with garbage bags full if he or she only ventures out to an appropriate habitat (woodlands, wetlands, etc...about anywhere, really!). Not only can you stock up on a decent edible, but you can help increase the population of other helpful plants by nixing some of their invasive competitors.

Alliaria petiolata

Sherrie Tue Sep 30 2008

According to Steve Brill, the root can be used like horseradish.

www.wildmanstevebrill.com

Alliaria petiolata

Robert Gergulics Sat Apr 11 2009

Photos Here. Photorobg.com

www.photorobg.com

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