Rhizome stout, shortly creeping to ascending, densely clad in slender dark lanceolate-attenuate paleae; stipites crowded. Stipes 15-30 cm. × 3 mm., stiff, densely paleate at base, ± densely paleate elsewhere, becoming glab. Rhachis stout to slender, smooth, paleate when young, with rather distant alt. pinnae. Lamina (15)-20-50-(100) × (5)-15-(20) cm., ± pend., coriac., dark green, lanceolate-attenuate, ± paleate when young; veins conspicuous, simple or forked from about halfway. Pinnae up to 50 or more, ascending, shortly stalked, decreasing towards terminal pinna, (5)-10-(15) cm. × 15-25 mm.; lanceolate, acuminate, inciso-serrate, us. with broadly rounded toothed lobe on upper edge near obliquely cuneate base. Sori us. cop., linear, up to 2 cm. long, often almost reaching margin; indusium firm.

Pinnae narrower, up to 15 cm. × 15 mm., acuminate; sori up to 1 cm. long, not reaching near to margin.

Rhizome stout, short creeping, densely covered in red-brown, narrowly triangular scales up to 10 × lmm. Stipes 10-30 cm long, dark brown, still", densely covered in scales similar to but smaller than those of the rhizome (Fig. 4A-E). Laminae lanceolate, 25-50 (or more) × 10-20 cm, dark green and glossy above, paler and dull below, frequently pendulous, pinnate. Raches dark chocolate brown, very scaly. Pinnae 25 (or more) pairs, narrowly angular-ovate to ovate, sometimes with a large rounded basal acroscopic lobe, acuminate, doubly serrate, 5-10 × 1—2 cm, scaly and with prominent veins on underside. Sori often slightly curved away from the midrib, up to 2 mm long. Spores (26)30-37 (40) mcm long, (15)18-21(25) mcm wide (6 populations), perispore with a few very prominent ridges (Fig. 30A-B).

2n = 144

2n = c. 72