Blooming Mustard Plants

Garlic Mustard

• Native to Africa, Asia and Europe, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is a herbaceous, cool-season, shade-tolerant, flowering mustard plant. The strongly toothed, triangular leaves and chartreuse stalk of this biennial herb releases a pungent odor similar to onion or garlic when crushed or bruised. Garlic mustard typically flowers during its second year. Small, white flowers with four distinct petals sprout from stems borne on a 1 to 4 foot tall stalk. The Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States reports garlic mustard is an invader of high quality, mature woodlands and producer of compounds that inhibit the development of other plants.

Charlock Mustard

• Charlock mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) is a leafy spring weed hailing from the Brassicaceae Burnett species of plants. The unevenly toothed, oblong-ovate leaves of this flowering mustard plant have a pointed end and are edible fresh or cooked. Charlock mustard produces dense clusters of yellow flowers up to 30 cm long. Individual blossoms have four ornate, teardrop-shaped petals about 8 to 14 mm in length. Flower stalks are stout and grow from 2 to 6 mm long. Stiff-to-bristly hairs cover the flowering stems of this leafy plant. Charlock mustard originates from Europe and grows profusely in different parts of North America. The flowers, seeds and roots of this blooming mustard plant also provide a variety of culinary purposes.

Dame's Rocket

• Dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis) is a showy, short-lived perennial or herbaceous biennial that prefers moist and woody habitats but is highly tolerant of other environments. This member of the mustard family flowers from May to August, and produces large, loose clusters of fragrant four-petaled blossoms in white, pink or purple. Flowers are 3/4 inch long and flowering stalks reach 2 to 3 feet in height. Dame's rocket also has oblong, sharply toothed leaves that are 2 to 4 inches long. Once native to Europe, Hesperis matronalis germinates throughout Canada and 42 of the 50 states in North America.