It is a dematiaceous (dark-walled) mold normally found in soil, air, cellulose and plant debris.
[1] In 1817 Gustav Kunze established the genus Chaetomium (the plume of the helmet)[2] to classify the species C. globosum and C. elatum.
No further contributions to the genus were made until 1837 when the publication of Corda described its characteristic asci in his work, Icones Fungorum Hucusque Cognitorum.
[3] In 1915, Arthur Houston Chivers produced a complete monographic treatment of the genus, recognizing only 28 of the described 114 species.
A few cases of fatal deep infections due to Chaetomium atrobrunneum have been reported in immunocompromised people.