We will examine the flowers and fruits of the Brassicacae because Capsella is frequently used as the model for dicot embryo development, and because this is an important family from a human perspective. It produces many leaf crops like Watercress, Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage and Brussels Sprouts. Chinese radish, plain old radish, horseradish, Japanese horseradish and turnips are important root crops.  When we eat Broccoli we are actually eating an inflorescence. Finally, this family is the source of Mustard which along with Ketchup are dietary staples in the USA! This family is commonly known as the Mustard family and it was formerly called the Crucuferae.

The Placentation is Parietal and the Fruits are Capsules. However, a "false partition" grows from one of the placentae and divides the locule in half. Some of the Seeds adhere to this and may be dispersed because the mature structure is very light. The fruits are called Siliques.