Capparaceae

a family of dicotyledonous plants. It includes herbs, shrubs, lianas, and sometimes trees, with simple or pal-mately compound alternate leaves that often have small stipules. The flowers are bisexual, rarely unisexual and regular, and most often more or less irregular. There are usually four each of sepals, petals, and stamens. The ovary is sessile, or, more often, on a long gynophore. The fruit may be a capsule, or pod-like, or berry-like.

There are approximately 45 genera (more than 800 species) in the family, growing in tropical, subtropical, and less frequently in temperate countries, often in regions with an arid climate, particularly in Africa. Two genera are found in the USSR— Capparis and Cleome, with 13 species. The Cleome genus and related genera are sometimes separated into a special family, Cleomaceae.