Brassicaceae relationships within the Brassicaceae have not always been well resolved yet. It has long been clear that the Aethionemae are sister of the remainder of the family. One analysis from 2014 represented the relation between 39 tribes with the following tree. The name "Brassicaceae" comes to international scientific vocabulary from New Latin, from "Brassica", the type genus, + "-aceae", a standardized suffix for plant family names in modern taxonomy. The genus name comes from the Classical Latin word "brassica", referring to cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables. The alternative older name, Cruciferae, meaning "cross-bearing", describes the four petals of mustard flowers,
Plant research has often been done with plants. In genetics, the breeding of pea plants allowed Gregor Mendel to derive the basic laws governing inheritance, and examination of chromosomes in maize allowed Barbara McClintock to demonstrate their connection to inherited traits. The plant "Arabidopsis thaliana" is used in laboratories as a model organism to understand how genes control the growth and development of plant structures. NASA predicts that space stations or space colonies will one day rely on plants for life support. Ancient trees are revered and many are famous. Tree rings themselves are an important method of dating in archeology,