The Brassicales (or Cruciales) are an order of flowering plants, belonging to the malvid group of eudicotyledons under the APG IV system. Well-known members of Brassicales include cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprout, broccoli, kale, mustard, turnip, bok choy, rapeseed, radish, horseradish, caper, papaya, moringa or drumstick tree, mignonette, nasturtium, and arabidopsis.
One character common to many members of the order is the production of glucosinolate (mustard oil) compounds. Most systems of classification have included this order, although sometimes under the name Capparales (the name chosen depending on which is thought to have priority).
The order typically contains the following families:
Akaniaceae – two species of turnipwood trees, native to Asia and eastern Australia
Bataceae – salt-tolerant shrubs from America and Australasia
Brassicaceae – mustard and cabbage family; may include the Cleomaceae
Capparaceae – caper family, sometimes included in Brassicaceae
Caricaceae – papaya family
Cleomaceae
Emblingiaceae
Gyrostemonaceae – several genera of small shrubs and trees endemic to temperate parts of Australia
Koeberliniaceae – one species of thorn bush native to Mexico and the US Southwest
Limnanthaceae – meadowfoam family
Moringaceae – thirteen species of trees from Africa and India including the drumstick
Pentadiplandraceae – African species whose berries have two highly sweet tasting proteins
Resedaceae – mignonette family
Salvadoraceae – three genera found from Africa to Java
Setchellanthaceae
Tiganophytaceae
Tovariaceae
Tropaeolaceae – nasturtium family