[1] Penicillium commune is considered an ancestral wild-type of the fungus species P. camemberti, a mould commonly used in the production of soft cheese.

[6] The asexually produced spores (i.e., conidia) of P. commune are smooth and spherical, ranging from 3.5 to 5.0 μm in diameter, borne in disordered chains on conidiophores with rough-walled stipes.

Colonies on CZA and CYA range from soft and velvety to slightly fluffy with exudate present that can be clear to brown coloured.

[2][3][7] In addition, the underside of the colonies grown on CZA and CYA are creamy/ dull yellow to brown-yellow in colour.

[3][7][12] With cheese being produced in an environment that is characterized by refrigeration temperatures, low oxygen availability, lipid breakdown activity, preservation actions of free fatty acids and reduced water availability, the physiology of P. commune allows the fungus to still grow in these conditions.

[13][14] This species has been isolated from other food products such as nuts, fats, margarine, fermented sausages, yogurt, sour cream, lactose powder, and high fat-filling cakes.

[3][7] It has been known to cause "phenol defect" in foods like ripening Italian ham, apples, pears and flours where the taste and smell of these products are off due to spoilage by the fungus.

[15] Penicillium commune has shown promising activity in microbial biodegradation research in relation to environmental pollutants.

The fungus could be a new source in industrial application with respect to biodegradation of oil wastes in the environment using biological means.

[15] Although P. commune has no known penicillin activity, an environmental isolate of the fungus has shown to produce statin and to anti-pathogenic products.

The fungus species was able to significantly decrease the growth of two pathogenic bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, on biofilms in a laboratory setting.