mustard family: Meaning and Definition of

mus'tard fam"ily

1. the plant family Cruciferae (or Brassicaceae), characterized by herbaceous plants having alternate leaves, acrid or pungent juice, clusters of four-petaled flowers, and fruit in the form of a two-parted capsule, and including broccoli, cabbage, candytuft, cauliflower, cress, mustard, radish, sweet alyssum, turnip, and wallflower.