Novelties in Draba (Brassicaceae) from Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru

Resumen

Draba L., the largest genus in the Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), includes some 350 species distributed primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in arctic and subarctic regions, and also in montane and alpine portions of temperate regions (Al-Shehbaz, 1987).The genus is well developed in South America, where 65-70 species grow along the An des from Colombia and Venezuela south into Pa tagonia.Many of these species are poorly under stood, and several others have been described only recently (\1- Shehbaz, 1989;Rangel & Santana, 1989).The South American members of Draba belong to several species complexes, of which the taxonomy is much in need of critical study.A revision of the genus is now in progress.Because this revision will take several years to complete, it is felt necessary to publish the novelties and nomenclatural changes in advance in order to make these names available for various floristic and inventory studies.Draba steyermarkii Al-Shehbaz, sp.nov.