Certain tasks, in their simple, semi-repetitive nature, let the mind wander.  Sufficient physical activity focuses or perhaps distracts the surface thoughts, allowing the inner mental activity more room.  A recent study on workplaces found that if workers got away from their desks and did some sort physical activity they were more creative.  Nothing new there, at least not for someone who developed pretty much all of her essays and theses will away from any sort of desk.

Why does this lead to Garlic Mustard?  Well, I spent the better part of the afternoon pulling the stuff, trying to eradicate from several areas.  It is an easy weed to pull, despite its long taproot, easy to identify; but the physical activity of paying sufficient attention to not pull everything else, to duck under tree branches, and so forth gave me plenty of time to think on other things. 

One of the lesser thoughts was why pull the Garlic Mustard?  What is the justification for pulling it and not the Greater Celandine or the Dame’s Rocket?  All three are considered weeds and, worse, the Dame’s Rocket and the Garlic Mustard are both banned in Connecticut. Does pulling one and not the other make me somewhat hypocritical? If not, why not?  Yes, I can have moral angst over a plant.

All three are historic plants, the Garlic Mustard actually is a vegetable garden escapee.  The primary answer was actually quite simple, relying on science rather than legal definitions.  Garlic Mustard is a whole different level of invasive plant from Dame’s Rocket.  While Rocket will spread and form large clumps, it doesn’t actually alter the surrounding ecosystem appreciably.  Garlic Mustard however, chemically suppresses the mycorrhizal fungi found in North American forests as well as putting out other chemical growth inhibitors.  This prevents other woodland species from growing, allowing the Garlic Mustard to become a monoculture and the dominant plant in the understory.  It also is unpalatable to our white-tail deer and is poisonous to several butterfly species, which mistake it for their host plants. A self-fertile, biennial, a single plant will produce several thousand seeds; additionally, its main growing season is fall and spring, giving it a serious edge in the woodland environment.  In other words, it is a perfect example of plant capable of not only out-competing, but of permanently altering an areas ecology. 

So, it gets pulled.  The Rocket, equally illegal, stays.