[5] This fungus was first discovered by the German scientist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1818 as Rhizopus nigricans.

A variety of natural substrata are colonized by this species because R. stolonifer can tolerate broad variations in the concentration of essential nutrients and can use carbon and nitrogen combined in diverse forms.

[6] In the laboratory, this fungus grows well on different media, including those that contain ammonium salts or amino compounds.

[7] Rhizopus species periodically produce rhizoids, which anchor it to the substrate and unbranched aerial sporangiophores.

[7] The thermal death point, which is defined as the lowest temperature that can kill all cells in ten minutes, is 60 °C.

[3] Sexual reproduction occurs when compatible haploid mating types in the form of hyphae make contact with each other, producing diploid zygospores.

[12] The disease caused by this fungus occurs mainly on ripe fruits, such as strawberries, melon and peach, which are more susceptible to wounds and have a higher sugar content.

[13] R. stolonifer can also cause soft rot of many vegetables, flowers, bulbs, corms, and seeds.

[4] Some species of Syncephalis can reduce the asexual reproduction of R. stolonifer and therefore may delay or even prevent the post-harvest disease caused by this fungus.

[17] The treatment of sweet potatoes with sodium orthophenyl phenol (Stopmold B) and dichloran (Botran W) have effectively reduced storage rot.

[18] Rhizopus stolonifer is an opportunistic agent of disease and hence will only cause infection in people with a weakened immunity.