This fungus lives throughout the world in soil, plants, and decaying vegetation. Cutaneous (skin) infection is the most common form of infection, and usually occurs after handling contaminated plant material, at which point, the fungus enters the skin through a small cut or scrape.
The first symptom is usually a small painless nodule (bump) resembling an insect bite. The first nodule may appear any time from 1 to 12 weeks after exposure to the fungus. The nodule can be red, pink, or purple in color, and it usually appears on the finger, hand, or arm where the fungus has entered through a break in the skin. The nodule will eventually become larger in size and may look like an open sore or ulcer that is very slow to heal. Additional bumps or nodules may appear later near the original lesion.