A novel actinomycete, designated strain KLBMP 4601(T), was isolated from the root of the medicinal plant Curcuma phaeocaulis collected from Sichuan Province, south-west China. The strain produced extensively branched substrate and aerial hyphae that carried straight to flexuous spore chains. Chemotaxonomic properties of this strain were consistent with those of members of the genus Streptomyces. The cell wall of strain KLBMP 4601(T) contained LL-diaminopimelic acid as the characteristic diamino acid. The major menaquinone was MK-9(H(4)), with minor amounts of MK-9(H(6)), MK-9(H(8)) and MK-10(H(2)). The major fatty acids were C(16:0), iso-C(16:0), C(18:1)ω9c and C(16:1), iso G. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain KLBMP 4601(T) belongs to the genus Streptomyces and is most closely related to Streptomyces armeniacus JCM 3070(T) (97.9 %), Streptomyces pharmamarensis PM267(T) (97.6 %) and Streptomyces artemisiae YIM 63135(T) (97.5 %). The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain KLBMP 4601(T) and other members of this genus were lower than 97.5 %. DNA-DNA hybridization studies of strain KLBMP 4601(T) with the three closest species showed relatedness values of 36.3 ± 4.2 %, 27.3 ± 0.6 %, and 30.9 ± 2.5 %, respectively. On the basis of chemotaxonomic, phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, it is evident that strain KLBMP 4601(T) represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces phytohabitans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KLBMP 4601(T) (=KCTC 19892(T) = NBRC 108772(T)).