Plants terrestrial or epilithic. Rhizome short-creeping, sparsely branched, to 150 mm long, to 5 mm in diameter, closely set with roots, persistent stipe bases and scales, scales chartaceus, atrocastaneus to ferrugineous, clathrate, sessile, subulate, cordate-imbricate, entire or shallowly dentate, smaller scales often with a few gland-like cells at the base, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 7 mm long, to 0.5 mm wide. Fronds closely spaced, arching, to 1.23 m long; stipe atrocastaneus, adaxially sulcate, to 625 mm long, to 3 mm in diameter, densely scaled initially, scales chartaceus, atrocastaneus to ferrugineous, clathrate, sessile, subulate to filiform, cordate-imbricate, entire or shallowly dentate, smaller scales often with a few gland-like cells at the base, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 6 mm long, to 0.5 mm wide; lamina anadromous, to 3-pinnate, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, to 605 mm long, to 150 mm wide, with up to 22 petiolated pinna pairs; rachis firm, atrocastaneus, sulcate adaxially, initially closely set with scales similar to those on the stipe; pinnae petiolate, petiole to 6 mm long, opposite to alternate, basally more widely spaced, often slightly overlapping apically, firmly herbaceous, ovate to lanceolate, to 130 mm long, to 60 mm wide, with up to 6 petiolated pinnule pairs; pinna-rachis sulcate adaxially, sulcus confluent with that of the rachis, initially densely scaled, scales similar to, but smaller than, those on the rachis; pinnules petiolate, petiole to 2 mm long, alternate, spaced, 1-pinnate, trullate to narrowly trullate, to 33 mm long, to 22 mm wide, often with a single pair of petiolated segments; segments narrowly to broadly cuneate, trullate or obtrullate, divided into oblong segments, irregularly dentate, to 10 mm long, to 8 mm wide, adaxially sparsely scaled, scales chartaceus, ferrugineous, clathrate, sessile, filiform, cordate, entire, often with one or more gland-like cells near the base, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 0.3 mm long, abaxially initially moderately scaled, scales chartaceus, ferrugineous, clathrate, sessile, ovate, lanceolate, or filiform, usually with pluricellular filiform outgrowths and gland-like cells at the base, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 2 mm long, to 0.4 mm wide. Venation adaxially obscure, evident abaxially, flabellate, terminating in the teeth near the margin. Stomata (32-)40.04(-48) (m long. Sori linear, extending along a vein, to 5 mm long; indusium firmly herbaceous, stramineous, linear, entire, attached along the entire length, to 5 mm long, to 0.3 mm wide; sporangium long-stalked, simple, uniseriate, 3-seriate below the capsule, capsule globose in lateral view, with (18-)19(-20) indurated annulus cells, epistomium 2-celled, hypostomium (4-)4(-5)-celled. Spores 64 per sporangium, brown, elliptic, monolete, with low reticulate ridges and prominent wings, (30-)34.03(-40) x (18-)20.91(-24) (m. Chromosome number 2n = 144, tetraploid. Figure 46C.