A preliminary checklist of Rubus species occurring in the Czech Republic

A checklist of Rubus species occurring in the Czech Republic (West Czechoslovakia) is given as a result of a long-term critical study. It includes 77 native and naturalized species belonging to 6 subgenera, 6 sections and 21 series. Problems of present batological classification are discussed with special emphasis on the importance of the size of the distribution range. Data on the total distribution area and occurrence in the Czech Republic are given for native species. In addition to the numbered 77 species, the checklist also includes cultivated species (6) and species which could be found in the area studied in the future (21, with data on their nearest occurrence). Present results are compared with earlier classifications of the genus in the Czech Republic and with data from critical revisions existing for some countries of Central and West Europe. Data on the extent of distribution areas, territory elements, distribution patterns in the area studied, and numerical representation of sections Rubus and Corylifolii are given as well. Ten species new for science and 25 species new for the Czech Republic were found during the study period. The Appendix includes descriptions of two new species, two proposals of nomenclatural changes for infraspecific taxa and six proposals of new names for nothosubgenera.