A new Klebsiella species, K. variicola, is proposed on the basis of total DNA-DNA hybridization, on the monophyly observed in the phylogenetic analysis derived from the sequences of rpoB, gyrA, mdh, infB, phoE and nifH genes and on distinct phenotypic traits. The bacteria from this new species seem to be genetically isolated from K. pneumoniae strains, do not ferment adonitol and were obtained from plants (such as banana, rice, sugar cane and maize) and hospitals. The type strain is F2R9T (= ATCC BAA-830T = CFNE 2004T).