When cultured at a temperature of 25 °C on potato dextrose agar it forms white colonies which become powdery and/or granular as they mature.

The anamorph has conidia that are flattened on the base and tapered at the apex, resembling a boat keel in cross-section or a pontifical mitre.

[8][10] The fungus is a typical perithecial member of Phylum Ascomycota, producing minute, enclosed fruiting bodies containing sexual spores (ascospores) in sacs known as asci.

[4][12] Besides the typical soil life of a decomposer, this fungus is also known to live within the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis.

Studies have shown M. brevicaulis inhabits its host as an endosymbiont, and may provides protection against the insect-pathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae.

Despite the discomfort and pain which dermatological infections of this sort inflict upon patients, M. brevicaulis is considerably more dangerous (even fatal) in situations where it manages to bypass the skin and reach deep tissues.

However, in recent years there has been an increase in the previously rare number of cases of deep tissue infections resulting from M.

It is believed that the increasing incidence of diseases like AIDS and diabetes coupled with medical practices like chemo-therapy and broad-spectrum antibiotic treatments are primarily responsible for creating a large number of individuals who are predisposed to potentially fatal infections of M.

[23] Another more recent entry route for this fungus has been an increase in the number of elective surgeries which raise its exposure to internal environments.