Terrestrial or lithophyte; rhizome short-creeping, to 7 mm diameter, with dark brown subulate entire rhizome scales up to 5 mm long. Fronds shortly spaced, arching, narrowly deltoid, proliferous at base of terminal pinna (and sometimes on pinna costa) near the apex, thinly coriaceous. Stipe matt black, 12–35 cm long, set with brown subulate scales similar to rhizome scales, glabrescent. Lamina ovate to deltate, 15–48x8–20 cm, 2-pinnate to 3-pinnatifid near the base of the lamina, the lowest pinnae longest, apical pinna similar to upper pinnae. Pinnae dark green above, ovate or lanceolate in outline, up to 11x4.5 cm, unequally cuneate at the base, attenuate, progressively deeply divided towards the base into obcuneate or rhombic pinnules with the outer margins sharply serrate and irregularly shallowly incised, free pinnules with cuneate to narrowly cuneate bases, glabrous except for small lanceolate dark scales near the extreme base. Rachis matt brown, with occasional dark subulate scales, sulcate ventrally. Sori along the veins, linear, 4–30 mm long; indusium linear, narrow, membranous, entire, 0.3–0.4 mm wide. Fig. 7: 1–2, p. 42.
