| Organism | Macroscopic | Microscopic | Other Comments |
| Acremonium spp. | Initial yeast-like; later grey to pink or reddish | Small septate hyphae producing single phialides, elliptical conidia arranged in a "diphtheroid" pattern. Can be in a gelatinous cluster. (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Rapid growing |
Aspergillus fumigatus
| Fluffy to granular; white to blue-green (courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Septate hyphae with condiophores with L- or T-shaped foot cells at the base; the tip is vesicle-shaped with conidia in long chains of small conidia; flower-like appearance (courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Rapid growing
Thermotolerant Most Aspergillus species are sensitive to Amphotericin B |
Aspergillus niger
| Brown- black surface; reverse buff | Septate hyphae, long conidiophores, spherical vesicles from which dense aggregates of echinulate, brown-black conidia arise. They sporulate from phialides distributed around the entire circumference of the vesicle. . | Rapid grower; Common laboratory contaminant, especially during construction; Can occasionally cause otitis externa. |
Aspergillus nidulans
| Greenish to brown colonies | Spores are in cleistothecia containing asci and ascospores - they develop in and upon the conidial layer. Conidial heads are short and columnar. red image shows cleistothecia - (courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Seen in chronic granulomatous disease patients |
Aspergillus flavus
| Yellow colonies | Central spherical or globose vesicles covered by a double row of sterigmata, then short chains of yellow-orange conidia. They sporulate from phialides distributed around the entire circumference of the vesicle (courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Rapid grower |
Aspergillus terreus
| Tan, cinnamon-like colonies | Hemispherical vesicles; chains of spherical microconidia, attached to vegetative hyphae seen in direct mount | Uncommon infections |
Beauveria spp.
| White smooth colony | Blue cluster of sympodial single-celled conidia resembling a cluster of flowers: (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Rare infections; common lab contaminant |
Fusarium spp.
| Pink, orange, rose-red, other colors, fluffy to cottony (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Small septate hyphae; Multicelled, sickle form macroconidia (Fusarium dimerum complex) (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Rapid grower; Can cause mycotic keratitis Mold found in fermenting stored grain. |
Geotrichum spp. (Note: some of these species have undergone name changes)
| White/cream colored; yeast-like or powdery | Septate hyphae producing rectangular or barrel-shaped, contiguous arthroconidia | |
| Gliocladium spp. | Green lawn (growing from border to border); sometimes with a lighter border | Tight clusters of conidia supported by multiple penicillate conidiophores. (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | |
Penicillium spp.
| Blue-blue/green; other colors possible; colony lily pad shaped (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Hyaline, septate hyphae produce brush-like conidiophores. Blunted phialides produce chains of spherical conidia. (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | |
Paecilomyces spp. (Note: some of these species have name changes)
| Velvety, tan-olive brown | Long tapering phialides such as in Trichoderma spp. (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | |
Scedosporium spp. including Scedosporium boydii, S. apiospermum, and Lomentospora prolificans (previously known as S. prolificans). (Scedosporium boydii was previously known as Pseudallescheria boydii) | Mouse-grey or brown colonies | Dark, elliptical conidia each supported by a conidiophore ("lollipops"). Spores in "cleistothecia" Lomentospora prolificans (formerly Scedosporium prolificans, formerly S. inflatum) - note the flask-shaped swelling in the conidiophore: (flask-shaped swelling in the conidiophore) | Sometimes classified with dematiaceous fungi; can cause chronic sinusitis. Important: Resistant to amphotericin B. |
Scopulariopsis spp.
| White to buff or light-brown with rubal folds | Chains of large, lemon-shaped annelloconidia in chains; similar to Penicillium but conidia are large with a flat base | Usually a laboratory contaminant; rare cause of disease. |
Trichoderma spp.
| Green lawn - growing from border to border (similar to Gliocladium); sometimes with a lighter border | Branched conidiophores bearing clusters of flask-shaped, tapered phialides (image courtesy of U. Adelaide) | Rapid growing |
