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Abstract We are developing an onlineaccessible knowledge and database system of crossreferenced information and resources on Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) taxonomy, systematics and evolution, including chromosome numbers, traits and characters, germplasm resources, and accurate enumeration of all species, genera and tribes. Biological, molecular and evolutionary knowledge is exponentially increasing in the mustard family. However, because of the complex and overwhelming biological diversity of the family, it is difficult to assess research results within a larger evolutionary framework. Many species have proven to be remarkable study objects but are rarely available. Biological material and resources, either collected directly in the wild or held in germplasm collections, have often been taxonomically misidentified; and only very rarely has the material been further characterized and documented. There is also no comprehensive survey of character and trait distribution among Brassicaceae lineages, though familywide phylogenies are meanwhile available. In order to close these gaps, we will make accessible to the scientific community the research data focusing on adaptive characters and their evolution in the Brassicaceae. In this context, we will also provide a comprehensive documentation of the taxonomy and systematics of the entire family. This will include a database with all relevant taxonomic, systematic and phylogenetic literature, a comprehensive data collection of characters and traits, a DNAbased identification tool for genera and species, electronic interactive keys for the identification of genera and species, and a setup of a carefully selected and documented germplasm collection representing main lineages of the family. This knowledge database, hereafter BrassiBase , has been launched within the framework of the DFG priority programme SSP 1529 “Adaptomics – Evolutionary plant solutions to ecological challenges/Molecular mechanisms underlying adaptive traits in the Brassicaceae s.l.”