Low-level epiphyte, on wet rocks or terrestrial; rhizome erect or sometimes shortly creeping, smelling of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) when cut, up to 5 mm diameter, with dark brown ovate-triangular clathrate minutely pseudoserrate rhizome scales 1–1.5(–2) mm long, with pale lacerate margins. Fronds tufted, arching, narrowly oblong-elliptic, herbaceous, proliferous near the apex of the frond (rarely not proliferous). Stipe shiny dark brown, 4–20 cm long, densely set with ovate to broadly ovate clathrate pale scales of various sizes up to 1.5 mm long (–2.5 mm on crozier stipes) together with multicellular hairs. Lamina very narrowly elliptic in outline, 15–95x3–12 cm, 2-pinnatifid, lower pinnae (much) reduced, apical pinna linear and lobed. Pinnae in 24–56 pairs, lanceolate, rhombic, deeply but narrowly lobed to 1/3 –2/3 of the way, 2–7x0.8–1.7 cm, base unequally cuneate, acroscopic basal lobe the largest and often parallel to the rachis, pinnately divided into linear-oblong acute 2-fid or 3-fid or broadly cuneate and deeply incised lobes, lobes oblique, truncate and bifid, thinly pubescent above and below especially near the base, densely so along the costa, dorsally with clathrate ovate brown scales up to 1 mm long; veins flabellate, costa may be difficult to see or pronounced. Rachis green above, dark brown to black at sides and beneath, pubescent with whitish hairs and with occasional ovate scales. Sori 10–22, in 2 rows close to costa and set at 15–25°, linear and very narrowly oblong, 2–6.5 mm long; indusium linear, membranous, entire, 0.3–0.5 mm wide. Fig. 7: 5–7, p. 42.