The taxonomic position of a rhizosphere isolate, strain 52108a(T), was determined using a polyphasic approach. The strain was found to have chemical and morphological properties consistent with its assignment to the genus Kitasatospora. An almost complete 16S rRNA gene sequence determined for the strain was aligned with corresponding sequences of representatives of the genus Kitasatospora and related taxa using three tree-making algorithms. The organism formed a distinct phyletic line within the Kitasatospora clade and was most closely related to Kitasatospora arboriphila (98.9 %), Kitasatospora kifunensis (99.0 %), Kitasatospora paracochleata (98.4 %) and Kitasatospora terrestris (98.2 %), but was readily distinguished from representatives of these species using a combination of phenotypic properties. The combined genotypic and phenotypic data show that the strain should be classified in the genus Kitasatospora as a novel species. The name proposed is Kitasatospora viridis sp. nov., with the type strain 52108a(T) (=AS 4.1878(T)=DSM 44826(T)).