These genera were previously included in the family Capparaceae, but were raised to a distinct family when DNA evidence suggested that the genera included in it are more closely related to Brassicaceae than they are to Capparaceae.
Placement of the genus within a family has previously been considered a difficult problem; it has at various times been placed in Capparaceae, Sapindaceae, Goodeniaceae and, in the Cronquist system, Polygalaceae.
An associated series of papers describes research in the family Cleomaceae, which was separated from the Capparaceae.
Maerua cafra (DC.) Pax is a small Southern African tree belonging to Capparaceae, the caper family, occurring eastwards along the coast from Knysna, then further inland and northwards through KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland to the Transvaal, southern Mozambique and southern Zimbabwe.
Capparis mirifica is a species of plant in the Capparaceae family.