Fungus
Sporothrix schenckii
Rose-gardener dimorphic fungus, cigar-shaped yeast
spo-ROTH-riks shenk-EE-eye
High-yield clue
Rose-gardener's disease: a thorn prick that produces nodules ascending along a lymphatic chain is the core study clue.
Overview
A thermally dimorphic fungus of the Sporothrix complex that lives on plant material and soil and causes subcutaneous 'sporotrichosis' after traumatic inoculation. It is the classic teaching example of a wound-implantation fungal infection.
Classification
- Thermally dimorphic fungus
- Mold at 25C, yeast at 37C
- Cigar-shaped/oval budding yeast in tissue
- Ascomycota
- Sporothrix schenckii complex
Lab & identification clues
- Cigar-shaped or oval budding yeast in tissue vocabulary
- Mold form shows rosette/sleeve conidia on delicate conidiophores
- Asteroid body vocabulary in tissue
- Dimorphism demonstrated by temperature shift
Associations
- Lymphocutaneous nodules along lymphatic channels
- Traumatic inoculation from sphagnum moss, hay, and rose thorns
- Gardeners, florists, and landscapers as at-risk vocabulary
- Zoonotic cat-associated transmission in some regions
Commonly confused with
- Nocardia species (lymphocutaneous nodular pattern)
- Leishmania (nodular skin lesions)
Your notes
Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.