The Cleomaceae are a small family of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s 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 ...

, 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 were previously included in the family

Capparaceae The Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the caper family, are a family of plants in the order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, the family contains 33 genera and about 700 species. The largest genera are ''Capparis'' (about ...

, but were raised to a distinct family when DNA evidence suggested the genera included in it are more closely related to 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 ...

than they are to the Capparaceae. The

APG II system The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system) of plant classification is the second, now obsolete, version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy that was published in April 2003 by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Gr ...

allows for Cleomaceae to be included in Brassicaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards)

Angiosperm Phylogeny Website The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (or APweb) is a website dedicated to research on angiosperm phylogeny and taxonomy. The site is hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden website and maintained by researchers, Peter F. Stevens and Hilary M. Davis ...

Brassicales

Taxonomy

In 1994, a group of scientists including

Walter Stephen Judd Walter S. Judd (born 1951) is an American botanist and taxonomist, and distinguished professor in the Department of Botany, University of Florida since 2009. Career Judd attended Michigan State University (B.S. 1973, M.S. 1974) and Harvard Un ...

suggested to merge the

(which at that time included the Cleomaceae) with the Brassicaceae. Early DNA-analysis showed that the Capparaceae - as defined at that moment - were

paraphyletic In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...

, and others suggested to assign the genera closest to the Brassicaceae to the Cleomaceae. The Cleomaceae and Brassicaceae diverged approximately 41 million years ago. All three families have consistently been placed in one order (variably called Capparales or

). The APG II system merged Cleomaceae and Brassicaceae. Other classifications have continued to recognise the Capparaceae, but with a more restricted circumscription, either including ''Cleome'' and its relatives in the Brassicaceae or recognizing them in the segregate family Cleomaceae. The

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fu ...

has recently adopted this last solution, but this may change as a consensus arises on this point. Current insights in the relationships of the Brassicaceae, based on a 2012 DNA-analysis, are summarized in the following tree.

Subdivision

The genera in Cleomaceae include:Germplasm Resources Information Network
Cleomaceae
/ref> *'' Andinocleome'' *'' Arivela'' *'' Buhsea'' *'' Carsonia'' *'' Chilocalyx'' *'' Cleome'' *'' Cleomella'' *'' Cleoserrata'' *'' Dactylaena'' *'' Decastemon'' *'' Gynandropsis'' *'' Haptocarpum'' *'' Hemiscola'' *'' Iltisiella'' *'' Isomeris'' *'' Justago'' *'' Melidiscus'' *'' Mitostylis'' *''

Oxystylis ''Oxystylis'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants currently considered a part of the cleome family containing the single species ''Oxystylis lutea'', which is known by the common name spiny caper. It is native to the Mojave Desert straddli ...

'' *'' Peritoma'' *'' Physostemon'' *''

Podandrogyne ''Podandrogyne'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family 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, ...

'' *'' Polanisia'' *'' Rorida'' *''Roridula'' Forssk. *'' Tarenaya'' *'' Tetratelia'' *''

Wislizenia ''Wislizenia'' is a genus of flowering plants containing three recognized species native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Common names include spectacle fruit and jackass clover. Like genus ''Cleome'' and several relatives, ...

Description

Cleomaceae are mostly

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

, sometimes

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

s, seldom shrubs or small trees, and some are

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a t ...

s. Most of them have

glands In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream ( endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface ( exocrine gland). Structure ...

, a character setting them apart from the related

, and contain

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on nat ...

s, and may have an aromatic or foetid smell. The alternately set leaves, have stalks and never form a sheath around the stem. The leaves are always palmately compound, mostly with three to seven leaflets, rarely with just one leaflet. At the base of the leafstalk sit scaly, leafy or spiny

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s, a difference with its

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

that consistently lack stipules, although a pair of glands can sometimes be present at the base of the leaf stalk. Hairs and papillae may be present. The flowers of Cleomaceae are somewhat to strongly bilateral symmetric. There are mostly four, sometimes two or six, free or merged

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s, that may be shed quickly or remain, are overlapping in the bud or are already separate. The

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name *Corolla (headgear) A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown.petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s that have distinctive claws and limbs, free or with merged limbs. The

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

may be placed on the level of insertion of the

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla ( petals) or tepals when ...

or on a stalk, raising the bases of the stamens above the perianth. This occurs for instance in '' Gynandropsis gynandra''. There are four simple stamens or branched in four groups of up to 12 stamens each that have a common base, and are free from the petals. When there are groups of stamens, the

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

mature from the middle outwards. The base of the stamens may or may not be fused with the female parts in the centre of the flower. The filaments may be of equal length or strongly differ, and all may carry anthers, but infertile

staminode In botany, a staminode is an often rudimentary, sterile or abortive stamen, which means that it does not produce pollen.Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; ''A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent''; Published by Gerald Duckworth & C ...

s may also occur. The anther releases the

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

through slits stretching along its length. The ovary is positioned above the perianth and the

androecium The stamen ( plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the fil ...

(a so-called superior ovary), consists of two fully merged

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) '' pistils' ...

s, and contains one cavity that may be divided in two by a partition (or replum). Between ten and fifty

ovule In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the '' integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the ...

s (future seeds) are set along the margins of each of the carpels. As the fruit ripens, a stalk (or gynophore) develops. The dry fruit opens with two valves. When the fruit has a replum, it has the same basic morphology as the Brassicaceae (called silicula or siliqua), and this sets it apart from the Capparaceae, that have a capsule.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q132347 Brassicales families