Plants terrestrial or epilithic. Rhizome short-creeping, sparsely branched, to 60 mm long, to 4 mm in diameter, closely set with roots, persistent stipe bases and scales, scales chartaceous, atrocastaneus to ferrugineus, clathrate, sessile, subulate, cordate-imbricate, usually with a few short, multicellular outgrowths near the base, entire towards the apex, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 5 mm long, to 0.7 mm wide. Fronds closely spaced, suberect to arching, to 250 mm long; stipe atrocastaneus, adaxially sulcate, to 100 mm long, to 2 mm in diameter, densely scaled initially, scales chartaceus, castaneus to ferrugineus, clathrate, sessile, subulate to filiform, cordate to cordate-imbricate, usually with short or long filiform outgrowths terminating in a gland-like cell at the base, entire towards the apex, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 5 mm long, to 0.5 mm wide; lamina anadromous, to 2-pinnate, narrow elliptic, to 170 mm long, to 70 m wide, with up to 10 petiolated pinna pairs; rachis firm, castaneus, sulcate adaxially, initially closely set with scales similar to, but smaller than, those on the stipe; pinnae petiolate, petiole to 2 mm long, opposite to alternate, basally slightly more widely spaced, often overlapping apically, basal two to three pairs gradually reduced, firmly herbaceus, narrowly to broadly trullate, to 45 mm long, to 26 mm wide, generally with a single petiolated pinnule pair; pinna-rachis sulcate adaxially, sulcus confluent with that of the rachis, initially densely scaled, scales similar to those on the rachis; pinnules alternate, sessile, narrowly to broadly cuneate, rhomboid or oblong, 14 mm long, to 7 mm wide, divided into oblong segments, irregularly dentate, adaxially initially sparsely scaled, scales chartaceus, ferrugineus, sessile, filiform, cordate, mostly with one or more gland-like cells at the base, entire towards the apex, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 2 mm long, to 0.3 mm wide, abaxially sparsely scaled, scales chartaceus, castaneus to ferrugineus, clathrate, sessile, subulate to filiform, cordate, usually with short and/or long outgrowths at the base, terminating in an oblong thin-walled cell, apex entire, terminating in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 3 mm long, to 0.4 mm wide. Venation obscure, flabellate, terminating in the teeth near the margin. Sori linear, extending along the vein, to 5.5 mm long; indusium firmly herbaceus, stramineus, linear, entire, attached along the entire length, to 5.5 mm long, to 0.3 mm wide; sporangium long-stalked, simple, uniseriate, 3-seriate below the capsule, capsule globose in lateral view, with (20-)21(-24) indurated annulus cells, epistomium (2-)2(-3)-celled, hypostomium (4-)6(-7)-celled. Spores 32 per sporangium, brown, broadly elliptic to subcircular, monolete, with low reticulate ridges and wings, (48-)53.7(-60) x (42-)47.6(-56) (m. Chromosome number: 2n = 288, octoploid. Figure 46D.