Mustards, Capers, and Allies of Zihuatanejo

ORDER BRASSICALES

• Plants (Kingdom Plantae)

• Vascular Plants (Phylum Tracheophyta)

• Flowering Plants (Subphylum Angiospermae)

• Monocots (Class Liliopsida)

• Mustards, Capers, and Allies (Order Brassicales)

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Order Brassicales is a diverse order of flowering plants (angiosperms) comprising more than 4,700 species distributed throughout tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of the world. Members include herbs, shrubs, vines, succulents, and trees that occupy habitats ranging from deserts and grasslands to forests, wetlands, and coastal regions. A defining feature of many species in this order is the production of glucosinolates (mustard oils), compounds that provide chemical defence against herbivores and give many plants their characteristic pungent flavour.