Alliaria Alarm

Whenever I give a talk on invasive species, at some point in my presentation I borrow a page from modern childrearing theory and say; "Species are neither good nor bad.  It's their behaviors that we judge as inappropriate."  Most of the time, I even mean this. Right or wrong, though, it's hard for me to consider this plant anything but terrible.  I hate garlic mustard.

Alliaria petiolata is a phenomenally successful invader in the eastern United States.  The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England notes:

"(Garlic mustard) is native to Europe, where it can be found from England to the Czech and Slovak Republics, Sweden, Germany and south to Italy. It has also been reported from Canada. In the United States it can be found from Maine to South Carolina, West to Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington and Oregon. It has been reported from all New England States."

It's been in this country since 1868 and when I look out at our moist woodlands today, where the spring  ephemerals are just starting to rise up through the leaves, more often than not all I can see is a solid blanket of garlic mustard rosettes.  Just 1-2% infestation of garlic mustard causes other species to drop out of a natural habitat.  The seeds (30,000 per plant), are very light and can be moved by agricultural equipment, road graders, bark mulch, and on the legs of deer.  The seeds remain viable for at least five years, so unless you get to the plants during their first year, you are in for a long pull.  They also keep invading my flowerbeds from my neighbor's infested yards.  They are aleopathic, exuding toxins in the soil to out compete other species (as Sissy Willis noted in this excellent post during garlic mustard season last year.)

It's a miserable plant, even though the white flowers on those long stalks can look pretty, I guess, to the untutored eye, and the greens are theoretically edible.  Do yourself a great favor and do not let this get established anywhere you care about.  It cannot be reformed.

Some of my enlightened horticultural industry emphasize "the right plant in the right place."  The place for Garlic Mustard, outside of its native range at least, is inside a heavy duty garbage bag.  It will just resprout on your compost pile.

Comments

[fuzzyturtle]

I was kind of hoping you could shed some light on a quandry I'm facing.. I hope you don't mind. You seem to be an all around enviro-natural guru ...

I'm participating in a Galerucella beetle rearing project to control purple loosestrife, and I have a site in Kent that I can use as a release site, I was hoping to release some of the beasts in my town. I've seen Purple Loosestrife in several public and town owned areas. I have put in a request to one public but apparently privately run park that I just adore, but I'd like to get a town park as a backup release site.

Problem is, I can't seem to find the right person to ask.

The contact at UCONN (a delightful woman, lots of positive energy) has Federal and State permits in place so the insects can be released, but the program requires consent from a designated property owner or someone responsible for the site.

I've been in contact with the Inland Wetlands Commission Chairman (and all around Invasives guy) who sent me to the Wetlands commissioner who's now sending me to the Parks and Rec guy.. who will look at me as if I have three heads and ask me if I want to take a tennis class this summer.

I know each town is different, but how to cut thru the red tape? (I have an aversion to bureaucracy which doesn't help).

Any ideas?

thanks.

You can email me at worm_ct at yahoo dot com

I'm in New Milford, CT if that makes a difference. Our current mayor likes to plow over and pave open space. She seems to prefer strip malls to wetlands. :(

[Terry Cowgill]

And perhaps talking abut them in terms usually reserved for your kids also makes them "more palatable, somehow." Can invasive species make bad choices? If we hack away at them, are we giving them a time out? Does a two-year-old plant become terrible?

[GreenmanTim]

Now that I would try - the salsa, not the President. I'm all in favor of devouring one's enemies: it makes them seem more palatable, somehow. But how much of the stuff would I have to eat to make a dent in the crop?

No matter. Drop in in a couple of weeks for some Knotweed Pie!

[fuzzyturle]

bah - youve never had Garlic Mustard Salsa
http://www.ma-eppc.org/recipes-jan23-06.html

but I agree its an aggressive invading pushy little nasty plant. Reminds me of the horticultural version of George Bush.

[Sissy Willis]

They call to mind the soul-killing Gramscian infiltration of our cultural institutions during the last century:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=+site:sisu.typepad.com+sisu+gramsci

As you say, it cannot be reformed.