Capparaceae
Encyclopedia
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. The largest genera are Capparis
(about 150 species), Maerua
(~100 species), Boscia
(37 species) and Cadaba
(30 species).
The family had long been considered to be closely related to and has been included in the mustard family, Brassicaceae
(APG, 1998), in part because both groups produce glucosinolate
(mustard oil
) compounds. Subsequent molecular studies (Hall et al., 2002, 2008) support that Capparaceae s.s. is paraphyletic
with respect to Brassicaceae and must be considered a separate family. However Cleome
and several related genera are more closely related to Brassicaceae than to Capparaceae. These genera are now either placed in Brassicaceae (as subfam. Clemoideae) or segregated into Cleomaceae
. 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 (Hall et al. 2004). Based on morphological grounds and supported by molecular studies the American species traditionally identified as Capparis have been transferred to resurrected old generic names and several new genera have been recently described (Cornejo & Iltis 2006, 2008a-e; Iltis & Cornejo, 2007; Hall, 2008).
Additional genera to be excluded from Capparaceae, according to Kers in Kubitzki
Caper
Capparis 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, is a family of plants in order Brassicales
Brassicales
The Brassicales 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 compounds...
. As currently circumscribed, it contains 33 genera and about 700 species. The largest genera are Capparis
Capparis
Capparis is a flowering plant genus in the family Capparaceae which is included in the Brassicaceae in the unrevised APG II system. These plants are shrubs or lianas and are collectively known as caper shrubs or caperbushes...
(about 150 species), Maerua
Maerua
Maerua is a genus of plant in family Capparaceae. Among its species:* Maerua acuminata Oliver* Maerua andradae Wild* Maerua brunnescens Wild* Maerua crassifolia Forssk.* Maerua elegans R. Wilczek...
(~100 species), Boscia
Boscia
Boscia is a genus of plant in family Capparaceae. It contains the following species:* Boscia albitrunca Gilg & Ben.* Boscia angustifolia A...
(37 species) and Cadaba
Cadaba
Cadaba is a genus of shrubs in family Capparaceae. There are about 30 species. Some species are classified as famine food in southern Ethiopia.Species include* Cadaba aphylla* Cadaba farinosa* Cadaba fruticosa* Cadaba glandulosa...
(30 species).
The family had long been considered to be closely related to and has been included in the mustard family, 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....
(APG, 1998), in part because both groups produce 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
Mustard oil
The term mustard oil is used for three different oils that are made from mustard seeds:*A fatty vegetable oil resulting from pressing the seeds,...
) compounds. Subsequent molecular studies (Hall et al., 2002, 2008) support that Capparaceae s.s. is paraphyletic
Paraphyly
A group of taxa is said to be paraphyletic if the group consists of all the descendants of a hypothetical closest common ancestor minus one or more monophyletic groups of descendants...
with respect to Brassicaceae and must be considered a separate family. However 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 several related genera are more closely related to Brassicaceae than to Capparaceae. These genera are now either placed in Brassicaceae (as subfam. Clemoideae) or segregated into 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...
. 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 (Hall et al. 2004). Based on morphological grounds and supported by molecular studies the American species traditionally identified as Capparis have been transferred to resurrected old generic names and several new genera have been recently described (Cornejo & Iltis 2006, 2008a-e; Iltis & Cornejo, 2007; Hall, 2008).
Genera
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Capparis Capparis is a flowering plant genus in the family Capparaceae which is included in the Brassicaceae in the unrevised APG II system. These plants are shrubs or lianas and are collectively known as caper shrubs or caperbushes... L. Cladostemon Cladostemon kirkii, , is a small deciduous tree belonging to the Capparaceae or caper family. It is a genus that has only this one species... A.Braun & Vatke Crateva Crateva is a genus of flowering plants in the caper family, Capparaceae.-Selected species:*Crateva adansonii DC.*Crateva magna DC.*Crateva religiosa G. Forst.*Crateva speciosa Volkens*Crateva tapia L.... L. Maerua Maerua is a genus of plant in family Capparaceae. Among its species:* Maerua acuminata Oliver* Maerua andradae Wild* Maerua brunnescens Wild* Maerua crassifolia Forssk.* Maerua elegans R. Wilczek... Forssk. |
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Excluded genera
- CleomeCleomeCleome 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...
L. -> 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... - CleomellaCleomellaCleomella is a small genus of about ten species of flowering plants. Like their relatives, the cleomes, plants of this genus have traditionally been included in the caper family Capparaceae but have recently been moved into a new family, Cleomaceae. Cleomella are annual wildflowers native to the...
DC. -> Cleomaceae - Dactylaena Schrad. ex Schult.f. -> Cleomaceae
- Forchhammeria Liebm. -> StixaceaeStixaceaeStixaceae is a family in the plant order Brassicales. It is no longer recognised by most taxonomists. The three genera formerly included in Stixaceae — Forchhammeria, Stixis and Tirania — have sometimes been placed instead in the Capparaceae, but it is now clear that they do not belong there...
- Haptocarpum Ule -> Cleomaceae
- Koeberlinia Zucc. -> 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...
- Oceanopapaver Guillaumin -> MalvaceaeMalvaceaeMalvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
sensu lato, subfamily GrewioideaeGrewioideaeGrewioideae is a subfamily of the Malvaceae family.The group is named after its type genus, Grewia, which is named for the English scientist Nehemiah Grew .-External links:*http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grewioideae...
or TiliaceaeTiliaceaeTiliaceae is a botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family is not part of APG II, but it is found all through the botanical literature and remains prominently listed by nomenclatural databases such as IPNI....
, as synonym of CorchorusCorchorusCorchorus is a genus of about 40-100 species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world....
L. - OxystylisOxystylisOxystylis 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 straddling the border between California and Nevada. It grows in rocky...
Torr. & Frem. -> Cleomaceae - Pentadiplandra Baill. -> Pentadiplandraceae
- PhysenaPhysenaPhysena is a genus of flowering plants endemic to Madagascar. It contains two species of shrubs and small trees. Physena is the sole genus of family Physenaceae.-External links:*...
Noronha ex Thouars -> PhysenaPhysenaPhysena is a genus of flowering plants endemic to Madagascar. It contains two species of shrubs and small trees. Physena is the sole genus of family Physenaceae.-External links:*...
ceae - PodandrogynePodandrogynePodandrogyne is a genus of plant in family Cleomaceae. It contains about 100 species, including:* Podandrogyne brevipedunculata, Cochrane* Podandrogyne jamesonii, Cochrane* Podandrogyne trichopus, H.H.Iltis & Cochrane...
Ducke -> Cleomaceae - PolanisiaPolanisiaPolanisia is a genus of flowering plants in the Cleome family, Cleomaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as clammyweeds. P. jamesii is listed as endangered in Minnesota, while P. dodecandra is found throughout North America....
Raf. -> Cleomaceae - Stixis Lour. -> Stixaceae
- TiraniaTiraniaTirania purpurea, the sole species in genus Tirania, is a species of climbing plant native to Asia. This genus is related to Forchhammeria and Stixis, but the placement of these three is uncertain. They were placed in Capparaceae until DNA studies showed them to be more closely related to...
Pierre -> Stixaceae - WislizeniaWislizeniaWislizenia is a monotypic genus of flowering plant containing the single species Wislizenia refracta, which is known by the common names spectacle fruit and jackass clover. Like genus Cleome and several relatives, Wislizenia has traditionally been included in the caper family, Capparaceae, but has...
Engelm. -> Cleomaceae
Additional genera to be excluded from Capparaceae, according to Kers in Kubitzki
Kubitzki system
A system of plant taxonomy, the Kubitzki system is the product of an ongoing survey of vascular plants, entitled The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants....
- 1. Genera that may be capparalean but do not fit within Capparaceae
- Neothorelia Gagnep.
- 2. Genera that are insufficiently known but whose descriptions indicate that they cannot belong to Capparaceae
- Borthwickia W.W.Sm.
- Keithia Spreng.
- Poilanedora Gagnep.
- 3. Genera not treated in Kubitzki, but usually regarded as Capparaceae
- Buhsia Bunge
- Niebuhria DC.
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. ISBN 0-89672-614-2
- 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 (abstract 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 (abstract 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. ISBN 3-540-42873-9
- Takhtajan, A. 1997. Diversity and classification of flowering plants. ISBN 0-231-10098-1
External links
- Capparaceae, in Neotropikey
- Capparaceae, in Flowering Plants of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.
- Photos at University of Hawaii site
- Capparaceae, as Capparidaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards).
- Family Capparaceae flowers in Israel