A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium (designated strain CC-Bw-5(T)) was isolated from chopped tomato stems. The isolate grew at 20-40 �XC, pH 6.0-8.0 and tolerated 6% (w/v) NaCl. The most closely related strains in terms of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity were Bacillus isabeliae (95.3%) and Bacillus oleronius (95.3%). The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 37.2 �� 3.6 mol%. Strain CC-Bw-5(T) was determined to possess C16 : 0, iso-C14 : 0, iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C16 : 0 as predominant fatty acids. The polar lipid profile consisted of predominant amounts of diphosphatidylglycerol, and moderate-to-trace amounts of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified glycolipids, an unidentified phospholipid and an unidentified phosphoglycolipid. The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid; menaquinone (MK-7) was the predominant respiratory quinone. According to distinct phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic features, strain CC-Bw-5(T) is proposed to represent a novel species within the genus Bacillus for which the name Bacillus lycopersici sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CC-Bw-5(T) (= BCRC 80623(T) = JCM 19140(T)).