The taxonomic position of a group of fluorescent pseudomonad strains isolated from the phyllosphere of grasses was investigated through a polyphasic approach. Riboprinting analysis revealed highly similar patterns for the investigated strains which supported, together with the agreement of many phenotypic characteristics, their affiliation to the same species. A comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences of strain P 513/18(T), a representative strain from the grass isolates, revealed that it was affiliated to the cluster of the 'Pseudomonas fluorescens group', with Pseudomonas costantinii as the closest phylogenetic neighbour. However, DNA-DNA hybridization showed a clear demarcation at the species level between strain P 513/18(T) and P. costantinii. Furthermore, a comparison of riboprint patterns with Pseudomonas species clustering next to the novel grass isolates on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences supported their separate species status at the phylogenetic level. Based on phenotypic features, the novel isolates could also be differentiated from the other fluorescent Pseudomonas species that share positive arginine dihydrolase and oxidase reactions. As a consequence of these phenotypic and phylogenetic analyses, the isolates from the grass pyllosphere represent a novel species for which the name Pseudomonas lurida sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is P 513/18(T) (=DSM 15835(T)=LMG 21995(T)).