Brassicales
Encyclopedia
The Brassicales are an order
of flowering plant
s, belonging to the eurosids II group of dicotyledon
s under the APG II system. One character common to many members of the order is the production of glucosinolate
(mustard oil) compounds. Most systems of classification have included this order, although sometimes under the name Capparales (the name chosen depending on which is thought to have priority).
The order typically contains the following families:
Under the Cronquist system
, the Brassicales were called the Capparales, and included among the "Dilleniidae
". The only families included were the Brassicaceae
and Capparaceae
(treated as separate families), the Tovariaceae, Resedaceae
, and Moringaceae. Other taxa now included here were placed in various orders.
The families Capparaceae and Brassicaceae are closely related. One group, consisting of Cleome
and related genera, was traditionally included in the Capparaceae but doing so results in a paraphyletic Capparaceae. Therefore, this group is generally now either included in the Brassicaceae or as its own family, Cleomaceae
.
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s, belonging to the eurosids II group of dicotyledon
Dicotyledon
The dicotyledons, also known as dicots, are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. There are around 199,350 species within this group...
s under the APG II system. One character common to many members of the order is the production of glucosinolate
Glucosinolate
The glucosinolates are a class of organic compounds that contain sulfur and nitrogen and are derived from glucose and an amino acid. They occur as secondary metabolites of almost all plants of the order Brassicales , but also in the genus Drypetes .-Chemistry:Glucosinolates are water-soluble...
(mustard oil) compounds. Most systems of classification have included this order, although sometimes under the name Capparales (the name chosen depending on which is thought to have priority).
The order typically contains the following families:
- Family AkaniaceaeAkaniaceaeAkaniaceae is a family of flowering plants in order Brassicales. It comprises two monotypic genera, Akania and Bretschneidera....
- Family Bataceae (salt-tolerant shrubs from America and AustralasiaAustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
) - Family BrassicaceaeBrassicaceaeBrassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
(mustardMustard plantMustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard or prepared mustard...
and cabbageCabbageCabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
family) (may include the CleomaceaeCleomaceaeCleomaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, comprising about 300 species in 10 genera. These genera were previously included in the family Capparaceae, but were raised to a distinct family when DNA evidence showed that the genera included in it are more closely...
) - Family CapparaceaeCapparaceaeCapparaceae , commonly known as the Caper family, is a family of plants in order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, it contains 33 genera and about 700 species...
(caperCaperCapparis spinosa, the caper bush, is a perennial winter-deciduous species that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers. A caper is also the pickled bud of this plant...
family, sometimes included in BrassicaceaeBrassicaceaeBrassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
) - Family CaricaceaeCaricaceaeCaricaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, native to tropical regions of Central and South America and Africa. They are short-lived evergreen pachycaul shrubs or small trees growing to 5-10 m tall...
(papayaPapayaThe papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
family) - Family GyrostemonaceaeGyrostemonaceaeGyrostemonaceae is a family of plants in order Brassicales. It comprises 6 genera, totalling about 18 species. All are endemic to temperate parts of Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with small, often narrow leaves, and small flowers. They are wind-pollinated....
- Family KoeberliniaceaeKoeberliniaceaeKoeberlinia spinosa is a species of flowering plant native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico known by several common names, including Crown of Thorns, Allthorn, and Crucifixion Thorn. It is the sole species of the monotypic genus Koeberlinia, which is sometimes considered to be...
- Family LimnanthaceaeLimnanthaceaeLimnanthaceae are a small family of annual herbs occurring throughout temperate North America. There are eight species and nineteen taxa currently recognized. Members of this family are prominent in vernal pool communities of California. Some taxa have been domesticated for use as an oil seed crop...
(meadowfoam family) - Family MoringaMoringaMoringa is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Moringaceae. The name is derived from the Tamil word murunggai or the Malayalam word muringa, both of which refer to M. oleifera...
ceae (thirteen species of trees from Africa and India) - Family Pentadiplandraceae
- Family ResedaceaeResedaceaeResedaceae is a family of generally herbaceous dicotyledonous plants comprising some 70 species in six genera:*Caylusea*Ochradenus*Oligomeris*Randonia*Reseda*Sesamoides...
(mignonette family) - Family SalvadoraceaeSalvadoraceaeSalvadoraceae is a family in the plant order Brassicales, comprising 3 genera totalling around 12 species. They occur in Africa, including Madagascar; South East Asia; and have also been found on Java, suggesting they are probably found in much of Malesia...
- Family Setchellanthaceae
- Family Tovariaceae
- Family Tropaeolaceae (nasturtiumNasturtiumTropaeolum , commonly known as Nasturtium literally "nose-twister" or "nose-tweaker"), is a genus of roughly 80 species of annual and perennial herbaceous flowering plants and the only genus in the family Tropaeolaceae...
family)
Under the Cronquist system
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a taxonomic classification system of flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in his texts An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants and The Evolution and Classification of Flowering Plants .Cronquist's system places flowering plants into two...
, the Brassicales were called the Capparales, and included among the "Dilleniidae
Dilleniidae
Dillenidae is a botanical name at the rank of subclass....
". The only families included were the Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
and Capparaceae
Capparaceae
Capparaceae , commonly known as the Caper family, is a family of plants in order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, it contains 33 genera and about 700 species...
(treated as separate families), the Tovariaceae, Resedaceae
Resedaceae
Resedaceae is a family of generally herbaceous dicotyledonous plants comprising some 70 species in six genera:*Caylusea*Ochradenus*Oligomeris*Randonia*Reseda*Sesamoides...
, and Moringaceae. Other taxa now included here were placed in various orders.
The families Capparaceae and Brassicaceae are closely related. One group, consisting of Cleome
Cleome
Cleome is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cleomaceae. Previously it had been placed in family Capparaceae, until DNA studies found the Cleomaceae genera to be more closely related to Brassicaceae than Capparaceae...
and related genera, was traditionally included in the Capparaceae but doing so results in a paraphyletic Capparaceae. Therefore, this group is generally now either included in the Brassicaceae or as its own family, Cleomaceae
Cleomaceae
Cleomaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, comprising about 300 species in 10 genera. These genera were previously included in the family Capparaceae, but were raised to a distinct family when DNA evidence showed that the genera included in it are more closely...
.