The Brassicales (or Cruciales) are an order of flowering plants, belonging to the malvid group of eudicotyledons under the APG IV system. Well-known members of Brassicales include cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprout, broccoli, kale, mustard, turnip, bok choy, rapeseed, radish, horseradish, caper, papaya, moringa or drumstick tree, mignonette, nasturtium, and arabidopsis.

One character common to many members of the order is the production of isothiocyanate (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:

Classification

The following diagram shows the phylogeny of the Brassicales families along with their estimated ages, based on a 2018 study of plastid DNA:

Brassicales families
36 Akaniaceae Tropaeolaceae 92 64 Moringaceae Caricaceae Setchellanthaceae 85 Limnanthaceae 78 Salvadoraceae Bataceae 73 Koeberliniaceae 66 Emblingiaceae 61 55 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
36Akaniaceae Tropaeolaceae
Akaniaceae Tropaeolaceae
Akaniaceae
Tropaeolaceae
9264 Moringaceae Caricaceae Setchellanthaceae 85 Limnanthaceae 78 Salvadoraceae Bataceae 73 Koeberliniaceae 66 Emblingiaceae 61 55 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
64Moringaceae Caricaceae
Moringaceae
Caricaceae
Setchellanthaceae 85 Limnanthaceae 78 Salvadoraceae Bataceae 73 Koeberliniaceae 66 Emblingiaceae 61 55 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Setchellanthaceae
85Limnanthaceae 78 Salvadoraceae Bataceae 73 Koeberliniaceae 66 Emblingiaceae 61 55 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Limnanthaceae
78Salvadoraceae Bataceae 73 Koeberliniaceae 66 Emblingiaceae 61 55 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Salvadoraceae Bataceae
Salvadoraceae
Bataceae
73Koeberliniaceae 66 Emblingiaceae 61 55 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Koeberliniaceae
66Emblingiaceae 61 55 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Emblingiaceae
6155 Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
55Pentadiplandraceae 46 Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae
Pentadiplandraceae
46Resedaceae Gyrostemonaceae
Resedaceae
Gyrostemonaceae
Tovariaceae 49 Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Tovariaceae
49Capparaceae 43 Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Capparaceae
43Cleomaceae Brassicaceae
Cleomaceae
Brassicaceae
Phylogentic relationships based on data from plastid DNA. The numbers next to each branching point indicate its estimated date (million years ago). Families with more than 30 species are in bold.

On 20 April 2020, a newly described monotypic species from Namibia, namely, Tiganophyton karasense Swanepoel, F.Forest & A.E. van Wyk is placed under this order as a monotypic member of new family Tiganophytaceae, which is closely related to Bataceae, Salvadoraceae and Koeberliniaceae.

Historic classifications

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 other 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.

Gallery of type genera

Setchellanthaceae is sometimes known as the azulita family.

External links

  • Media related to Brassicales at Wikimedia Commons