| 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 w. conidia in long chains of small conidia; flower-like appearance (courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Rapid grower
Thermotolerant Most Aspergillus species are sensitive to Amphoterinin B |
A. 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. |
A. nidulans
| Greenish to brown colonies | Spores are in cleistothecia containing asci and ascopspores - they develop in and upon the conidial layer. Conidial heads are short and columnar. red image shows cleistotheca - (courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | Seen in chronic granulomatous disease patients |
A. flavus
| Yellow colonies | Central spherical or globus 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 |
A. 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 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.
| White/cream colored; yeast like or powdery | Septate hyphae producing rectangular or barrel shaped, contiguous arthroconidia | |
| Gliocladium spp. | Green lawn; 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 producing chains of spherical conidia. (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | |
Paecilomyces spp.
| Velvety, tan-olive brown | Long tapering phialides such as in Trichoderma spp. (image courtesy of U. of Adelaide) | |
Scedosporium spp. including Scedosporium boydii, S.apiopspermum, S. prolifacans. (Scedosporium boydii can also can be classified as Pseudoallescheria boydii) | Mouse-grey or brown colonies | Dark, elliptical conidia each supported by a conidiophore ("lollipops"). Spores in "cleistotheca" S. prolificans (inflatum): (flask-shaped swelling in the conidiophore) | Sometimes classified with dematiaceous fungi; can cause chronic sinusitis. 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 (similar to Gliocladium); sometimes with a lighter border | Branched conidiophores bearing clusters of flask shaped, tapered phialides (image courtesy of U. Adelaide) | Fast growing |
