Are there lookalikes?
Yes, there are garlic mustard lookalikes, but it depends on the current form of the plant.
In its low-growing rosette form, garlic mustard looks like these common plants:
- fringecup (Tellima grandiflora) – look for hairy leaves and stems
- piggy-back plant, (Tolmiea menziesii) – look for hairy leaves and stems
- ground ivy (Glecoma hederacea) - leaves are similar, but creeps along the ground (roots on the stem nodes
In its flowering form, garlic mustard is often confused with:
- hairy bittercress, (Cardamine hirsuta) – look for short plants, 6 to 8-inches high, and compound or deeply-lobed leaves, flowering in March
In its mature form with ripe seedpods, garlic mustard looks like many mustard cousins, including:
- black mustard, (Brassica nigra) – look for longer pods with very pronounced seedbumps
Photos: fringecup (L) with garlic mustard rosette (R); and bittercress (L) with nipplewort (R)