Streptomyces strain LL-P018 produces the phaeochromycins, novel anti-inflammatory polyketides. This organism was identified as a strain of Streptomyces phaeochromogenes by physiological and genetic taxonomic analysis. In order to gain greater taxonomic perspective, LL-P018 was compared to related strains from major culture collections by 16S rRNA sequence, ribotype, HPLC-MS metabolite profile, and rpoβ sequence. Using BioNumerics software, genetic and chemical fingerprint data were integrated via multivariate cluster analysis into a single, robust comparison. This novel comparative multi-cluster analysis is most useful for clarifying relationships between closely related species. Based upon this analysis, strain LL-P018 is very closely related to the type strains of both S. phaeochromogenes and Streptomyces ederensis, indicating that these two types may in fact represent a single species. These comparisons also revealed two separate strain groups within this species, which are distinguishable by ribotype and metabolite profile.