Rhizome erect or shortly creeping with narrowly lanceolate scales up to 4 mm long, golden yellow to darker reddish brown with or without a dark central stripe, curved and sometimes serrulate-ciliolate. Fronds 8–20, tufted, 19–60(–100) cm tall; stipes blackish brown or purple, 5–39 cm long, with similar scales to rhizome (often ± recurved) towards the base, upper side and of rhachis densely shortly pubescent; lamina narrowly oblong in outline, 15–58 cm long, 8–18 cm wide, simply pinnate but sometimes with small accessory lobe at base of lower pinnae; pinnae in (6–)8–21 pairs, oblong-lanceolate, oblong or oblong-ovate, 3–10(–17) cm long, 0.6–3.5 cm wide, clearly articulate with stalk 3–4 mm long, pubescent, ± acute or very rarely obtuse or bifid at apex, obliquely subcordate at the base, usually entirely glabrous (see note); terminal pinnule sometimes with a semi-hastate base; veins entirely free but usually not visible without clearing or strong transmitted light. Sori usually around all the margins but any sterile margin crenate-dentate.Fig. 4 (p. 11).