Mustard, common name for a large family of pungent-juiced herbs, important for the many food plants and other crops it produces, and for its representative genus. The family contains about 390 genera and 3000 species. It is worldwide in distribution, but about two-thirds of the species occur in the Mediterranean region and southwestern and Central Asia. Most members of the mustard family are annual or perennial herbs; a few are shrubs or climbers. The mustard family contains a great variety of food plants, including cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kohlrabi, all of which are varieties of the wild cabbage native to coastal Britain and southern Europe (Brassica oleracea). Table mustard is prepared from powdered seeds of two other species, black mustard (Brassica nigra) and white mustard (Brassica hirta). The family is also an important source of vegetable oils. Scientific classification: Mustard is the common name for the family Cruciferae and its representative genus Brassica.