The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the
caper
''Capparis spinosa'', the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.
The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning ...
family, are a family of plants in the order
Brassicales
The Brassicales (or Cruciales) are an order of flowering plants, belonging to the eurosids II group of dicotyledons under the APG II system. One character common to many members of the order is the production of glucosinolate (mustard oil) compo ...
. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 33 genera and about 700 species. The largest genera are ''
Capparis'' (about 150 species), ''
Maerua'' (about 100 species), ''
Boscia'' (37 species) and ''
Cadaba'' (30 species).
Taxonomy
The Capparaceae have long been considered closely related to and have often been included in the
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...
, the mustard family (APG, 1998), in part because both groups produce
glucosinolate (
mustard oil
Mustard oil can mean either the pressed oil used for cooking, or a pungent essential oil also known as volatile oil of mustard. The essential oil results from grinding mustard seed, mixing the grounds with water, and extracting the resulting vola ...
) compounds. Subsequent molecular studies support Capparaceae'' sensu stricto'' as
paraphyletic with respect to the Brassicaceae. However ''
Cleome'' and several related genera are more closely related to members of the Brassicaceae than to the other Capparaceae. These genera are now either placed in the Brassicaceae (as subfamily Clemoideae) or segregated into the
Cleomaceae
The Cleomaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, comprising about 300 species in 10 genera, or about 150 species in 17 genera.Cleomaceae, Zhang Mingli (张明理)1; Gordon C. Tucker2, Harvard.edu/ref> These genera ...
. Several more genera of the traditional Capparaceae are more closely related to other members of the Brassicales, and the relationships of several more remain unresolved. Based on morphological grounds and supported by molecular studies, the American species traditionally identified as ''Capparis'' have been transferred to resurrected
generic
Generic or generics may refer to:
In business
* Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark
* Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
names. Several new genera have also been recently described.
[(Cornejo & Iltis 2006, 2008a-e; Iltis & Cornejo, 2007; Hall, 2008).]
Based on recent
DNA-analysis, the Capparaceae are part of the core Brassicales, and based on limited testing, the following tree represent current insights in its relationship.
Genera
Excluded genera
*''
Borthwickia''
W.W.Sm. → Resedaceae
*''
Cleome''
L. →
Cleomaceae
The Cleomaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales, comprising about 300 species in 10 genera, or about 150 species in 17 genera.Cleomaceae, Zhang Mingli (张明理)1; Gordon C. Tucker2, Harvard.edu/ref> These genera ...
*''
Cleomella''
DC. → Cleomaceae
*''
Dactylaena''
Schrad. ex Schult.f. → Cleomaceae
*''
Forchhammeria''
Liebm. →
Stixaceae
*''
Haptocarpum''
Ule → Cleomaceae
*''
Koeberlinia
''Koeberlinia'' is a genus of flowering plant. It is the sole genus in the family ''Koeberliniaceae''. Alternately it is treated as a member of the Capparaceae
The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the caper family, are a fami ...
''
Zucc. →
Koeberliniaceae
*''
Oxystylis''
Torr. & Frem. → Cleomaceae
*''
Pentadiplandra''
Baill. →
Pentadiplandraceae
*''
Podandrogyne''
Ducke → Cleomaceae
*''
Polanisia
''Polanisia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cleomaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as clammyweeds. '' Polanisia jamesii'' is listed as locally endangered in Minnesota, while '' P. dodecandra'' is widespread through muc ...
''
Raf. → Cleomaceae
*''
Setchellanthus''
Brandegee →
Setchellanthaceae
''Setchellanthus caeruleus'' is a species of pungent shrub with large blue flowers. It is placed alone in the genus ''Setchellanthus'', which is in turn, is placed alone in the family Setchellanthaceae. It is endemic to Mexico.
The genus and the ...
*''
Stixis''
Lour. → Stixaceae
*''
Tirania''
Pierre → Stixaceae
*''
Wislizenia''
Engelm. → Cleomaceae
;Additional genera to be excluded from the Capparaceae, according to Kers in
Kubitzki
;;1. Genera that may be capparalean but do not fit within the Capparaceae
*''
Neothorelia''
Gagnep.
;;2. Genera insufficiently known, but whose descriptions indicate they cannot belong to the Capparaceae
*''
Borthwickia''
W.W.Sm. →
Borthwickiaceae
*''
Keithia''
Spreng.
*''
Poilanedora''
Gagnep.
;;3. Genera not treated in Kubitzki, but usually regarded as Capparaceae
*''
Buhsia''
Bunge
*''
Niebuhria''
DC.
References
Further reading
*Cornejo, X. & H. H. Iltis. 2006. New combinations in Capparaceae sensu stricto for Flora of Ecuador. ''Harvard Pap. Bot.'' 11(1): 17–18.
*Cornejo, X. & H. H. Iltis. 2008a. Two new genera of Capparaceae: ''Sarcotoxicum'' and ''Mesocapparis'' stat. nov., and the reinstatement of ''Neocalyptrocalyx''. ''Harvard Pap. Bot.'' 13(1): 103-116.
*Cornejo, X. & H. H. Iltis. 2008b. New combinations in South American Capparaceae. ''Harvard Pap. Bot.'' 13(1): 117-120.
*Cornejo, X. & H. H. Iltis. 2008c. ''Anisocapparis'' y ''Monilicarpa'': dos nuevos géneros de Capparaceae de América del Sur. ''J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas'' 2(1): 61-74.
*Cornejo, X. & H. H. Iltis. 2008d. The reinstatement of ''Capparidastrum''. ''Harvard Pap. Bot.'' 13(2): 229-236.
*Cornejo, X. & H. H. Iltis. 2008e. A revision of ''Colicodendron'' Mart. (Capparaceae s.s.). ''J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas'', 2(1): 75-93.
*
*Hall, J. C., K. J. Sytsma and H. H. Iltis. 2002. Phylogeny of Capparaceae and Brassicaceae based on chloroplast sequence data. ''American Journal of Botany'' 89: 1826-1842 (abstrac
here.
*Hall, J. C., H. H. Iltis and K. J. Sytsma. 2004. Molecular phylogenetics of core Brassicales, placement of orphan genera ''Emblingia'', ''Forchhammeria'', ''Tirania'', and character evolution. ''Systematic Botany'' 29: 654-669 (abstrac
here.
*Hall, J. C. 2008. Systematics of Capparaceae and Cleomaceae: an evaluation of the generic delimitations of Capparis and Cleome using plastid DNA sequence data. ''Botany'' 86: 682–696.
*Iltis, H. H. & Cornejo, X. 2007. Studies in the Capparaceae XXX. ''Capparicordis'', a new genus from the Neotropics. ''Brittonia'' 59: 246–254.
*Kers, L. E. 2003. Capparaceae. In: Kubitzki, K. (Series Editor):''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'', Vol.5: K. Kubitzki & C. Bayer (Volume Editors).Springer-Verlag Berlin, 36-56.
* Takhtajan, A. 1997. ''Diversity and classification of flowering plants''.
External links
Capparaceae, in Flowering Plants of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.
in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
{{Authority control
Brassicales families