Mustard Family: Brassicaceae

A delicious and important family! Many foods we eat belong to the Brassicaceae family: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, brussel sprouts, kohlrabe, collards, turnip, arugula, watercress, radish, horseradish, and – of course – mustard! Easily identified by clusters of small flowers with four separate petals and six stamens. Two stamens will be short and four, longer. Flowers are usually white or yellow. There are many weeds in this family, too, including the invasive garlic mustard that can be toxic to some butterflies.