I like to believe we can find beauty in most things in life…everything is in the eye of the beholder. This species, Cokeromyces recurvatus, is one of my favorites for a long time, in theory only, and only from drawings I saw in books. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend an advanced Mycology workshop and blessed with the chance to see these slides in person.
The internet tells me it was originally isolated from rabbit dung in Illinois. (https://mycocosm.jgi.doe.gov/Cokrec1/Cokrec1.home.html) Maybe it is my affinity with the rabbit (Chinese zodiac is the rabbit!) that I like this one so much…
Cokeromyces recurvatus, although rare, can cause mycotic infections in humans. It is a dimorphic fungi and has a yeast phase (or tissue form) similar to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, or also may be similar to spherules of Coccidioides immitis. Due to it’s rare occurrence, could be easily misidentified as either of those pathogens.