In a Dec. 20 Record article, staff writer Keith Reid seems to indicate that Lodi's extension of the moratorium on outdoor cultivation of marijuana stems from the noxious odor given off by the plants.

Could this be a case of mistaken identity?

The popular ornamental, society garlic - Tulbaghia violacea - smells garlicky when growing strongly but deteriorates into a "dead skunk" odor as declines and begins to decompose during the winter months.

This stink can permeate the atmosphere for quite a distance when conditions are right and can be encountered almost anywhere in town as the grassy hummocks of green or creamy leaves and long-blooming lavender flowers have been widely planted in home gardens, commercial yards and median strips in recent years.

The noxious odor from this common perennial, which looks like nothing more than a clump of dead grass in the winter, could easily be attributed to something else.

Jacey Holden

Lodi

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