A novel actinobacterium, YIM 132087(T), isolated from Lepraria sp. lichen collected from Yunnan province, south-west PR China. Cells are Gram-stain-positive, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative, aerobic, non-motile and short rod-shaped. Colonies are asporogenous, circular and white brown in colour. Optimal growth occured at 15-35 degrees C (optimum 28 degrees C), at pH 5.0-9.0 (optimum pH 6.0), and in the presence of 3% NaCl (w/v). The DNA G+C content of strain YIM 132087(T) based on the draft genome sequence was 71.3 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences suggested that strain YIM 132087(T) belonged to the genus Nakamurella and exhibited high levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Nakamurella endophytica CGMCC 4.7038(T) (97.9%) and Nakamurella intestinalis NBRC 111844(T) (97.2%). The DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain YIM 132087(T) and its closest relatives are lower than 26%. Strain YIM 132087(T) had meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic cell-wall diamino acid, and MK-8(H-4) as the predominant menaquinone. Predominant cellular fatty acids (> 10%) were iso-C-16:0, iso-C-15:0, C-16:0 and anteiso-C-15:0. The polar lipid profile were found to be diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, three unknown phospholipids, one unknown aminophospholipid and one unknown lipid. Based on phenotypic, phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic analysis, strain YIM 132087(T) belongs to the genus Nakamurella and represents a novel species of the genus Nakamurella, for which the name Nakamurella albus sp. nov., with type strain YIM 132087(T) (=CGMCC 4.7629(T) =NBRC 114017(T)), is proposed.