Garlic mustard might look like an innocent wildflower, but conservationists say it’s one of the most invasive plants in Massachusetts.

Despite its serrated leaves, delicate white flower and unmistakable scent, garlic mustard is on the state’s Prohibited Plant List. 

“It’s like wildfire,” said Lisey Good, founder of Wild Cohasset, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring native habitats and removing invasive species. “I hate garlic mustard so much.”

The biennial plant, originally brought to New England by European settlers hundreds of years ago as a food source and herbal remedy, has since become a major ecological threat. While some people still use garlic mustard in salads, soups, and pesto, the plant can quickly overwhelm forests and crowd out native species. Good said each stem has “tons of seeds in there.” 

“This plant might have 7,000 seeds,” she told WBZ-TV. “Next year this plant will die, but all around it will be 7,000 new baby garlic mustards.”

That’s why Good founded Wild Cohasset in 2015. As garlic mustard spreads, it pushes out native plants that local wildlife, like ruby-throated hummingbirds and butterflies, depend on for survival.

“They’re putting out a kind of chemical warfare,” she said. “It’s a poison that’s similar to cyanide, but it’s not harmful to humans. It’s just a mild amount. But it’s enough to change the soil chemistry so that nothing else can grow around it.”

Recently, Cohasset High School seniors helped Good remove the plant from Wheelwright Park.

“I play at the baseball fields, I’ve been around here awhile, so I just want to make sure it’s going to be here, be healthy for the next generation,” said senior Ronan Carnes.

“We should stop it while it’s just one weed, rather than like 7,000,” added fellow senior Emma Lee.

Timing is critical when it comes to garlic mustard removal. Experts recommend pulling the plant as early in the spring as possible, once the ground has thawed. May is often the easiest time to identify garlic mustard because its distinctive white flowers are in bloom.

The goal is to remove the plants before they set seed. After about June 20, conservationists say the risk increases dramatically. The seeds can spill from the stems during removal and spread to new areas.

Garlic mustard often spreads when people remove it from their yards and place it in compost piles. Seeds end up at municipal compost sites, transfer stations, or in community mulch piles, where they’re unknowingly redistributed and introduced to new areas.

Instead, experts recommend bagging the plants and throwing them in the trash.

For Good, the work is about more than removing a weed. It’s about helping people understand the connection between plants, wildlife, and healthy ecosystems.

“It’s so gratifying to see that people learn what to do,” she said. “People are planting more native plants in their yards for wildlife, and I think people have really started to understand the connection between plants and the creatures that live with us.”

There may also be a natural solution on the horizon.

Good points to a native wildflower called golden ragwort, which pollinators love, and researchers have found can successfully compete with garlic mustard. She recommends planting it in areas where garlic mustard has taken hold.

“It’s something people can do that tangibly helps birds and butterflies and bees and whole forests,” she said.

More information on removing garlic mustard can be found here.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office said the owners of an East Taunton gas station failed to report the release of 31,000 gallons of gasoline into the environment.

Prosecutors called it the “largest land-based gas release in Southeast Massachusetts history.”

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filed suit against Amaro’s Market and its trustees Two Brothers Realty Trust. Dependable Service Company, a petroleum service company in Plymouth, was also named.

They’re accused of failing to report the spill to the Department of Environmental Protection and failing to take steps to protect public health.

Prosecutors said the gasoline started leaking as early as April 2023 and continued until August 2023. The state said the leak contaminated soil, groundwater and the air.

“The AGO alleges that Amaro and Dependable ignored obvious warning signs of a gasoline leak, including persistent gasoline odors at the gas station and in the basement of a neighboring property, a near-constant presence of gasoline and water in parts of the gas pump equipment that should remain dry, repeated fuel alarms, and uncommonly high fuel deliveries and inventory discrepancies,” the attorney general said in a release Wednesday.

NBC 10 News sought comment from the defendants.

The state says in its lawsuit that gasoline vapors created an explosion risk.

“According to the complaint, testing in August and September 2023 showed significant levels of gasoline vapors inside residential properties in the vicinity of the gas station, as well as gasoline mixed within the groundwater,” the state said.

“Exposure to gasoline fumes can cause lung irritation as well as other symptoms such as confusion, disorientation, headache, blurred vision, and dizziness. Plants and animals can also be harmed by coming into contact with gasoline through soil and groundwater contamination,” the release said.

Prosecutors said they want a court to order Amaro and Dependable to pay cleanup costs and civil penalties and for them to comply with state regulations on hazardous materials and storage tanks.

As beaches start to open and warmer weather begins to settle in across New England, the start to summer is officially here, meaning Father’s Day is right around the corner. This year, the holiday falls on Sunday, June 21.

Looking for an activity to celebrate the men in your life outside of the house? Luckily, Massachusetts has plenty of fun Father’s Day events that dad, brother or grandpa would enjoy, all the way from a relaxing weekend of camping in the Berkshires to a jam-packed strawberry picking festival with fun for the whole family.

Here are 10 of Massachusetts’ best Father’s Day activities to check out with dad this year.

Go strawberry picking

Enjoy a classic summer day of strawberry picking with dad at Tougas Family Farm’s Father’s Day event, called Burgers, Berries and Beer. Along with open you-pick fields, the celebration will have music, a beer garden, a touch-a-tractor experience, a barnyard with animals to meet and a playground for kids. Food options include burgers, hot dogs and a special smoked brisket, as well as goods like ice cream, strawberry shortcake, strawberry smoothies, pies and more from the farm store.

The farm’s Father’s Day event will last all Father’s Day weekend long, with strawberry fields open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the beer garden open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday or 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tougas’ family picking package allows up to four people to pick four quarts of berries at $10.50 per person.

See a Red Sox game

If dad is a big Boston sports fan, there is no better way to celebrate Father’s Day than a Red Sox game. This year, the Red Sox are away over Father’s Day weekend, but there are plenty of games during the week before and wekeend after the holiday. A full schedule of Red Sox games, as well as tickets, can be found on mlb.com/redsox.

Check out a car show

With over 350 classic vehicles including hot rods, resto mods and classic cars of every era, the Greater Hyannis Chamber of Commerce Father’s Day Car Show has something for every car fan. One of the largest yearly cars shows in New England, the free event will take place on Sunday, June 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Main Street in Hyannis. Music will accompany the show, and various restaurants and stores on Main St. will be open for shopping and dining.

More: Father’s Day is coming up. Here’s when it is, and its history

Celebrate at a festival

Does dad like art? Take him to the 71st Annual South Shore Arts Festival, hosted by the South Shore Art Center. The three day-long festival will include a beer garden, live performances, children’s activities, an exhibition of 400 original artworks, a craft village of nearly 100 local exhibitors and plenty of food vendors, including Del’s Lemonade.

Admission is free, but a minimum $5 donation is encouraged. Festival hours are noon to 6 p.m. on June 19, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 20 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 21. The festival will take place at 119 Ripley Road in Cohasset.

Go axe throwing

Adventurous dads on the South Coast can enjoy a day of free axe throwing at Stumpy’s Hatchet House in Fall River, where sessions are offered for all ages of family members. Bring along a favorite beer, enjoy old-school games and be sure to pick up dad’s free Stumpy’s coozie.

Dads receive one hour of free throwing with one paid thrower or two hours with five paid throwers, and bookings can be reserved online. Stumpy’s is open from 2-10 p.m. on Sundays at 75 Ferry St. in Fall River.

Have brunch on a train

While Father’s Day brunch is offered at tons of restaurants in Massachusetts, the Cape Cod Central Railroad puts a unique spin on the meal by adding wheels. Departing from Hyannis at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 21, the railroad’s Father Day Brunch Train takes a two-hour train ride through the scenic Cape Cod countryside while serving a three-course meal. Food options include steak and eggs, a strawberry rhubarb French toast bake and biscuit and gravy casserole.

Tickets for the brunch train, which can be bought at fareharbor.com, start at $75 for adults or $55 for children ages 3-11.

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Spend a day at the zoo

For a family-fun day, explore wildlife from all around the world at one of Zoo New England’s locations. Both Franklin Park Zoo in Boston and Stone Zoo in Stoneham will offer free admission to all fatherly figures on Sunday, June 21.

All other attendees are required to purchase tickets, starting at $18.95 for adults, $17.05 for seniors and $15.15 for children ages 2-12. Both zoos will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Watch a monster truck show

Celebrate dad with a day of high-energy action at Seekonk Speedway’s Monster Truck Father’s Day Bash. The day will include one-on-one racing, monster truck rides and a meet-and-greet with the drivers, ending in the main event – a monster truck showdown.

General admission costs $25 for adults or $12 for children on Seekonk Speedway’s website, though prices are more expensive at the door. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m., with the main show starting at 2 p.m.