Sphaerosporella brunnea is a pryophilic species of small ascomycete cup fungi that commonly makes its habitat on burned substrates.

[6] Furthermore, upon finding burnt charcoal in the substrate of the type specimen of S. hinnuella, there can not be said that there are clear differences between neither the habitat nor morphology of S. hinnuella and S. brunnea, and it was determined that these two taxa were synonymous..[1] S. brunnea fruiting bodies appear as round cups ascocarps when young and appear more saucer shaped as they mature, and have a 1-6mm diameter.

Fruiting bodies have darker septate hairs around their margin and underside, while the top surface of the fungi is hairless.

[8] S. brunnea is a fast-growing operculate fungi whose "ascospores germinate readily", and is thus one of the first new pioneering growths in post-fire soils.

[9][8] In a study done by Danielson (1984), Jack pine roots infected with S. brunnea were examined, and it was found that it had formed mycorrhizae that were "simple or dichotomously branched once or twice" "ochraceous (light brownish yellow) but darkening with age" and composed of "smooth hyphae 4-14 μm in diameter" and with a "well-developed" Hartig net.

[9] In addition to this, Ángeles-Argáiz et al. (2015) describes S. brunnea ectomycorrhizae as having "thin and smooth mantles in brown to reddish-brown colorations, sometimes opaque or lacquers, without cystidia or clamp connections", and "without rhizomorphs or mycelial mats.

In inoculation tests on Jack pine, it was found that this ability to form mycorrhizal relationships is not shared by related taxa: Anthracobia melaloma, Trichophaea minuta, T. contradicta, and T. abundans[9].

[9] Moreover, according to Bennuchi et al. (2019), compared to relative taxa, proteins in the genome of S. brunnea show an "enriched capacity to produce plant cell wall -degrading enzymes" which could support S. brunnea having possible saprobic ability[10] S. brunnea is a known greenhouse contaminant that can interfere with the production of seedling attempting to be infected with species of Tuber, including Tuber melanosporum (black truffle), and has therefore caused significant economic losses in truffle orchards, even making it necessary to destroy entire batches of seedlings.