The database includes seven taxa which have been reported in error for Canada, and 264 names which are placed in synonymy in this treatment. Maps are available for 247 of the 256 taxa covered in the database. Cardamine breweri var. The Brassicaceae, which contains about 3500 species and 350 genera, is one of the 10 most economically important plant families. Crop brassicas display enormous diversity and are used as sources of oil, vegetables, mustard condiments, and fodder.
Several species are weeds in Canada.
The potential of wild germplasm to provide novel sources of economic traits in Canadian plant breeding programs has increased dramatically in the last 5-10 years with the development of biotechnology and its utilization as a breeding tool. Wild crucifer species have already provided novel sources of important agronomic traits, such as male sterility and pest resistance for canola. Inventories of genetic diversity, such as demonstrated in this electronic database, will facilitate crop breeding programs. This database is designed specifically to improve the availability and retrieval of information on Canadian species. Efforts to obtain and annotate herbarium specimens for these locations are currently in progress.