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Hello. I've been foraging loads of nettles recently. I've also been getting some garlic mustard along the way, or at least I thought I had been. I'm not so sure now.

I had been collecting those plants that look very much like nettles without a sting, and grow near nettles, with reddish stems and white flowers. Very common. They definitely have a unique smell, but since I haven't really used that much garlic in cooking I cannot pinpoint them as a mild garlic smell or taste.

Here's a picture



Have I been harvesting the wrong plant?

Thanks for the help

They are dead nettles. If you pull the flowers off and suck the end that attached to the plant it will taste sweet.

What she said! My garlic mustard (Jack by the Hedge) hasn't even emerged in seedling state yet, but it has a definite garlic flavour, although it is a quick garlic hit followed by a bitter note. It looks very different, so I suggest you google it and look at the images of flowers and leaves compared to what you picked.

Dead nettle leaves can be used in the same way as stinging nettles (red dead nettles are also common). The flowers are quite pleasant scattered in salads. A good identifying feature of dead nettles is the square stem (it is easy to feel the stem and the four sides are quite obvious) which is typical of the mint family.

As mentioned above, please take care with your ID to avoid eating anything unpleasant.

Yes that's a dead nettle but round here Jack by the Hedge/Hedge Garlic is fully grown and have been out for few weeks, starting to flower now,.

That sounds very early! Mine is in woodland though so is later than that out in the open - but this year I wouldn't be surprised if it's because it is so dry and even the grass has mostly not even started to grow yet this year and some is already going brown.