Brassicaceae
A family of flowering plants including mustards, cabbages, and Arabidopsis.
Brassicaceae, also known as Cruciferae, is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly called mustards, crucifers, or the cabbage family. The family includes many herbaceous plants, some shrubs, and very few vines, and is known for its cruciferous vegetables and the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana.
- subfamilies
- Brassicoideae and Aethionemoideae (as of 2023)
- accepted genera
- over 350 (as of September 2025)
- chromosome range
- n=4 to n=17, with up to 256 individual chromosomes in some species
- genome size
- very small to small, from 150 Mbp to 2375 Mbp
- carbon fixation
- mostly C3, with some Moricandia species having a hybrid C3-C4 system
- key compounds
- glucosinolates and myrosinases
Lore & Background
Carl Linnaeus in 1753 regarded the Brassicaceae as a natural group, naming them 'Klass' Tetradynamia. Alfred Barton Rendle placed the family in the order Rhoeadales, while George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker assigned it to their cohort Parietales. John Hutchinson in 1948 and again in 1964 thought the Brassicaceae to stem from near the Papaveraceae. In 1994, a group including Walter Stephen Judd suggested including the Capparaceae in the Brassicaceae. Early DNA-analysis showed that the Capparaceae were paraphyletic, and it was suggested to assign the genera closest to the Brassicaceae to the Cleomaceae. The Cleomaceae and Brassicaceae diverged approximately 41 million years ago.
Reader's Guide
The Brassicaceae family is significant for its economic importance as a source of cruciferous vegetables, including Brassica oleracea (cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, collards), Brassica rapa (turnip, Chinese cabbage), Brassica napus (rapeseed), Raphanus sativus (common radish), and Armoracia rusticana (horseradish). It also includes the cut-flower Matthiola (stock) and the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress). The family is characterized by flowers with four free sepals, four free alternating petals, and six stamens (two shorter and four longer). Fruits are capsules called siliques or silicles, divided by a thin septum. Brassicaceae contain glucosinolates and myrosinases that produce toxic compounds to deter herbivory. The family faces pests such as Pieris rapae and other Pieridae butterflies, as well as Trichoplusia ni (cabbage looper) moth, which is becoming resistant to pest control methods. Some non-native mustards like Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) are invasive and toxic to native butterfly larvae.
Did You Know?
- The family contains over 350 accepted genera as of September 2025.
- Some species have up to 256 individual chromosomes due to polyploidy.
- The genome size ranges from 150 Mbp in Arabidopsis thaliana to 2375 Mbp in Bunias orientalis.
- Pieris rapae and other Pieridae butterflies are among the best-known pests of Brassicaceae crops.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Brassicaceae?
Brassicaceae, often nicknamed Cruciferae or the cabbage family, is a medium-sized lineage of flowering plants that spans over 350 accepted genera. The cast is mostly herbaceous, with a handful of shrubs and very few true vines, and it splits into two subfamilies: Brassicoideae and Aethionemoideae.
What are Brassicaceae's powers and role?
The family's signature chemical toolkit is the glucosinolate–myrosinase system, which gives mustards and cabbages their sharp, pungent bite. It also plays a starring scientific role by housing Arabidopsis thaliana, the default model organism for plant genetics.
Why is Brassicaceae so important to the plant world?
Economically, the family supplies a huge share of the world's cruciferous vegetables and oilseed crops. Scientifically, its compact genomes (roughly 150 to 2,375 Mbp) and low basic chromosome numbers (n = 4 to 17) make its members exceptionally easy to sequence and manipulate in the lab.
How does Brassicaceae's story end?
Because it is a living, still-diversifying family, there is no final chapter; new species continue to be described and reclassified. Its current taxonomic snapshot (as of 2023) recognizes exactly two subfamilies, and its members range from strict C3 fixers to the rare C3-C4 hybrid system seen in some Moricandia species.
What is Brassicaceae's signature look?
Members are instantly recognizable by their four-petaled, cross-shaped blossoms—the visual trait behind the old common name Cruciferae. On the genomic side, the family also holds an extreme record: some species pack as many as 256 individual chromosomes into a single cell.
More in Flowering Plant Families 1-21
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