Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis)
Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake From All-Creatures.org Art and Photo Journals and Galleries Directory

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Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis)
Table of Contents

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 01) Garlic mustard is a common, rapid growing, spring blooming wildflower that is usually found in semi-shaded places

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 02) Most of the garlic mustard we have encountered have been growing in patches like this one, where they grow to heights of between one and three feet. Our thanks to Michelle Milbank for identifying garlic mustard.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 02a) The leaves of the garlic mustard are triangular or broadly heart shaped with toothed edges and grow alternately along the stem.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 03) In addition to the top flower cluster, the garlic mustard also has smaller flower clusters growing from the upper juncture of the leaves and stems.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 04) Another characteristic of the garlic mustard is the stem-like projections that grow around some of the flower clusters.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 05) Most of the mustard garlic in this patch were in shade; but a beam of sunlight came through the trees and shone upon this plant, as if to say, "Take this photo!" As you can see, we did.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 06) These brightly sunlit flowers blind the camera from seeing details. The garlic mustard has long been used as a condiment or salad green. Unlike other members of the mustard family (Cruciferae), the garlic mustard emits a garlic odor when crushed, which led to both its common name and scientific name (allium is the Latin word for garlic).

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 07) Each flower of the garlic mustard has four petals in the form of a cross, one pistil, and 6 stamens.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 08) This photo gives us a closer look at the detail of a garlic mustard leaf.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 09) The individual flowers of the garlic mustard are each about 1 cm. in diameter. The single pistil is easy to identify, but we have found that spotting the six stamens is more difficult.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 10) Even in this close-up photo, it is still difficult to see the six stamens.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 11) This garlic mustard is growing up through the gravel on the side of the road.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 12) This is a new growth of garlic mustard before the flower buds open.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 12a) This is a closer look at some of the new growth of garlic mustard flower bud clusters.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 13) Garlic mustard flower clusters are described as forming a button shaped cluster, but from the way these individual flower stems fan out, it looks like the flowers form a cyme or umbel, which we could not find confirmed in any of the literature we looked at.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 14) This is a closer look at some of the projecting garlic mustard flower stems.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 15) This is a closer look at a garlic mustard stem and leaf.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 16) This is a top view of a garlic mustard that we found growing along the side of the road.

(Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) - 17) In this photo, we can see the garlic mustard flower cluster stems growing from the leaf axils.

| Wild Flowers of SHL: Photo Identification, Common Name, Scientific Name | Art and Photos |

lamb-right lamb-left Presented here are just a few of the countless components of God's creation. Just as we cannot have human and animal life without water and plants, neither can we have lasting peace without love and compassion. It is our hope and prayer that this series will motivate people to live and act in a cruelty-free manner; that we would no longer hurt or destroy each other, the animals or our environment.

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake From All-Creatures.org Art and Photo Journals and Galleries Directory

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) Table of Contents

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Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis)
Wild Flowers of Sleepy Hollow Lake From All-Creatures.org Art and Photo Journals and Galleries Directory

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis)
Table of Contents