Plants 20-45 cm tall. Rhizome erect, short, scaly; scales dark to reddish brown, narrowly triangular, entire, apex acuminate. Fronds caespitose; stipe grayish brown or grayish green to stramineous, 10-20 cm, adaxially grooved longitudinally, with small scales similar to rhizome scales, subglabrous when old; lamina narrowly triangular, 12-30 × 4-7 cm, apex acuminate, 1-pinnate; pinnae 8-20 pairs, alternate or lower ones opposite, shortly stalked, basal pinnae not or slightly reduced, middle pinnae 2-3.5 × 1-1.3 cm, rhomboid to trapezoid or subdimidiate, ± falcate, base asymmetrical, first acroscopic lobe much larger than first basiscopic lobe, acroscopic side truncate, almost parallel to rachis and auriculate, basiscopic side narrowly cuneate (1/4-1/3 cut off) to almost parallel to costa, margin irregularly bicrenate, apex acute to acuminate, rarely obtuse. Veins obvious, grooved adaxially, basal acroscopic vein multi-forked, other veins 1-or 2-forked. Fronds subleathery, grass-green to stramineous when dry, adaxially with wrinkles above veins, small, brown, narrowly triangular and apically filiform scales on abaxial surface and pinna stalks, subglabrous when old; rachis (when dry) abaxially grayish castaneous to green-stramineous for most of its length, and with small narrowly triangular and apically filiform scales, adaxially longitudinally valleculate, gemmae or juvenile plants near rachis on pinna stalks. Sori linear, 4-8 mm, from near costa running nearly to margin, distal sori close to rachis; indusia grayish brown, linear, entire, opening toward costa or first acroscopic vein. Spores with lophate (costate) perispore, average exospore length 36-40 µm. Plants sexual octoploid: 2n = 288.
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