Capparaceae (or Capparidaceae), commonly known as the Caper family, is a family of plants in order Brassicales. As currently circumscribed, it contains 16 genera and about 480 species. The largest genera are Capparis (about 250 species), Maerua (~100 species), Boscia (37 species) and Cadaba (30 species).
As traditionally circumscribed, Capparaceae contained 28 genera and about 700 species. The family had long been considered to be closely related to the mustard family Brassicaceae, in part because both groups produce glucosinolate (mustard oil) compounds. In 2002, research (Hall et al. 2002) produced evidence that Capparaceae as traditionally circumscribed is paraphyletic with respect to Brassicaceae. Because of this, the two families were combined under the latter name in the APG II system. However research since then suggests that the families are distinct except that Cleome and several related genera are more closely related to Brassicaceae than to Capparaceae. These genera are now either placed in Brassicaceae 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).
- Genera included in Kubitzki system
- Genera included in Kubitzki system, but transferred to Cleomaceae[1]
- Genera to be excluded from Capparaceae, according to Kers in Kubitzki
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- 1.Genera that may be capparalean but do not fit within Capparaceae
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- 2.Genera that are insufficiently known but whose descriptions indicate that they cannot belong to Capparaceae
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- 3.Genera placed in other families
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- 4.Genera not treated in Kubitzki, but usually regarded as Capparaceae
References
Further reading
- Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L., Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. 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).
- 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
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