Rhizome stout, branching, often forming hard woody mass above ground; clad in brown shining translucent ovate-acuminate paleae up to 3 cm. long; stipites tufted, paleate at base. Stipes 10-40-(50) cm. × 5-10 mm., stout, blackish towards base, ± clad in slender lanceolate-attenuate paleae up to 25 mm. long. Rhachis stout, narrowly winged, ± paleate, smooth, bearing distant subopp. to alt. pinnae. Lamina thinly coriac., dark green and glossy above, 30-100 × 15-35 cm., about lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, with 16-40 or more pinnae. Pinnae (5)-10-15-(20) cm. × (2)-30-(50) mm., about lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, ± paleate below when young, long-stalked, crenate-serrate, obliquely cuneate at base; veins evident, simple or forked. Sori oblique, linear, up to 2 cm. long; indusium firm.

Rhizome stout, often forming a hard woody mass above ground, bearing pale brown, shiny, ovate, acuminate scales up to 30 × 7 mm. Stipes 8-20 cm long, dark brown, stout, densely covered in narrow scales with very long filiform apices (Fig. 9K-O). Laminae oblong to elliptic, 18-100 × 10-35 cm, dark green and glossy above, pinnate. Raches brown below, green above, stout, slightly ridged, scaly. Pinnae 4-15 pairs, lanceolate to narrowly oblong or ovate, acuminate, crenateserrate to ± entire, cuneate at base, 4-15 × 1-3 cm, frequently covered in very small hair-like scales on the underside. Sori up to 20 mm long, not reaching lamina edge. Spores (27)33-38(44) mcm long, (18)20- 24(26) mcm wide (5 populations), perispore a complex reticulate network (Fig. 29A-B).

n = 72

n = 72

2n = c. 144