Friday, May 21, 2010

Garlic mustard


Garlic mustard.  I find it hilarious that I didn't recognize this plant at first, because I have bought it from the greenmarket so many times.  At first all I saw were the funny upright skeletal-looking seedpods, which did not look familiar.


The jagged, triangular-shaped leaves at bottom right belong to the garlic mustard plant.  They are the tasty part: they can be cooked like cultivated mustard greens, of which they are indeed a relative, and they have an additional aroma of garlic - thus the name.  The flowers are cross-shaped and white.  Sadly, garlic mustard is invasive in many states.  It releases chemicals from its roots which inhibit the growth of nearby native species, and it rapidly colonizes new areas because it can self-pollinate (it's advantageous for a plant to clone itself if it's in an area it is already well-adapted to).


Growing in the bushes alongside the central path around 116th street in Morningside Park, Manhattan.

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