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Garlic mustard was introduced in North
America as a culinary herb in the 1860s and is an invasive species in
much of North America and is listed as a noxious or restricted plant as
of 2006 in the US states of Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.[5] Like most
invasive plants, once it has an introduction into a new location, it
persists and spreads into undisturbed plant communities. In many areas
of its introduction in Eastern North America, it has become the dominant
under-story species in woodland and flood plain environments, where
eradication is difficult.[6] The insects and fungi that feed on it in its native habitat are not present in North America, increasing its seed productivity and allowing it to out-compete native plants. It is a possible threat to the West Virginia White Butterfly (Pieris virginiensis) and Mustard White Butterfly (Pieris oleracea); adult butterflies of both species lay their eggs on native Dentaria or Toothwort plants, but they often confuse garlic mustard plants with Dentaria and lay their eggs on garlic mustard, because they have similar flowers. The eggs and young butterflies cannot live on the garlic mustard, because it has chemicals that are toxic to the larvae and eggs.[7] A study published in 2006 concluded that Garlic Mustard produces allelochemicals that harm mycorrhizal fungi that many North American plants, including native forest trees, require for optimum growth.[8] Additionally, because White-tailed Deer rarely feed on Garlic Mustard, large deer populations may help to increase its population densities by consuming competing native plants. Trampling by browsing deer encourages additional seed growth by disturbing the soil. A complication to the eradication of Garlic Mustard from an area is the longevity of viable seeds in the ground. Seeds contained in the soil can germinate up to five years after being produced.[9] Garic mustard has been classified as Magnoliopsida. Garlic mustard produces a variety of secondary compounds, including the flavonoid isovitexin 6″-O-β-d-glucopyranoside as a feeding deterrent to Pieris napi oleracea[10], defense proteins, glycosides, and glucosinolates that reduce its palatability to herbivores. [11][12] Research published in 2007 shows that, in Northeast Forests, garlic mustard rosettes increased the rate of native leaf litter decomposition, increasing nutrient availability and possibly creating conditions favorable to garlic mustard's own spread.[13] |
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