SEATTLE - Garlic mustard is a pretty little plant with a tasty name, but it's serious menace to Washington State's native plants and wildlife.
"It pulls up pretty easily but if you're not careful, the root will break off," explained a Washington Conservation Corps worker as he pulled another plant from the side of a Seattle trail.
If the European transplant gets a foothold, it can spread like wildfire.
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King County Invasive species experts are hoping to pull the green plants with the little white flower before it takes over entire hillsides and forests floors.
The plant shoots out seeds each year that migrate through the entire region on wildlife or hikers' boots. Once it begins to grow, it emits a chemical that makes it impossible for just about any native species to grow in that soil.
King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks officials say they don't want to see garlic mustard spread to the level of English ivy, which has invaded most urban forest in King County.
On Monday, workers converged on plants growing along a popular trail at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle.
