Rhizome creeping, 6 mm in diameter, with reddish brown lanceolate and acuminate scales 7 mm long, 1 mm wide but often some much narrower. Fronds closely spaced, up to ± 1 m tall; stipe dark brown at base, 14–38 cm long, glabrous but with scales similar to rhizome scales at base. Lamina oblong-lanceolate in outline, 23–70 cm long, (6–)10–28 cm wide, acute to acuminate, virtually to quite bipinnate, the pinnules mostly narrowly decurrent; pinnae in 15–20 pairs, lanceolate in outline, 4–18 cm long, 1.5–5 cm wide, attenuate, the basal pair usually markedly smaller and distant; rhachis straw-coloured; pinnules in 7–18 pairs, narrowly oblong, 5–22 mm long, 2–8 mm wide, sharply serrate-dentate or deeply lobed and lobes serrate. Sori oblong, curved or J-shaped, 1–1.5 mm long, 1–7 per pinnule-lobe and 14–70 per pinnule; indusia pale brown, membranous, erose. Fig. 3 (page 9).