Athyrium atkinsonii Bedd.

Rhizomes shortly creeping, 0.5-1 cm in diam., bearing remaining stipe bases, apex together with stipe bases, clothed with brownish or brown ovate scales. Fronds approximate or distant; fertile fronds (15-)60-100(-200) cm; stipe blackish brown at base, upper part stramineous or pale purplish red, 20-50(-100) cm, 3-10 mm in diam., occasionally with thin scales; lamina (24-)35-50(-100) cm, nearly as broad as long or slightly narrower, broadly ovate or ovate-triangular, in small plants lamina often ovate, in large plants lamina often subtriangular, 2-4-pinnate, acuminate; rachis and costae slightly tortuous; pinnae 10-12(-20) pairs, alternate, ascending, stalk 0.5-1(-3) cm, separate from each other, sometimes imbricate; basal pinnae as large as second basal pinnae, 5-15 cm apart, 15-20(-50) × up to 6-8(-28) cm at middle, slightly narrowed toward base, narrowly ovate to narrowly ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, subtruncate at base, 2-pinnate-pinnatifid to 3-pinnate; pinnules 10 pairs or more, anadromous, alternate, with stalk ca. 2 mm, 1.4-2 cm apart, subspreading, basal pair of pinnules slightly shortened, middle pinnules oblong-lanceolate, 3.5-5 × 1.2-2 cm, acuminate, truncate at base; secondary pinnules 6-8 pairs, oblong or subovate, 5-8 × 2-3 mm, obtuse-rounded, crenate at apex, base broadly cuneate, basiscopic base slightly decurrent; ultimate segments ovate-oblong, rounded-obtuse, or subsquare, with 2 or 3 unequal short teeth at apex, broadly cuneate and slightly inequilateral at base. Veins visible on surfaces, more prominent abaxially, pinnate with 4 or 5 pairs of lateral veins, simple, rarely forked. Lamina herbaceous when dried, blackish brown or greenish brown, glabrate; adaxial groove of costule open to groove of midribs, rachis and costae occasionally with membranous, small-lanceolate scales abaxially, without spines at base of pinnules and segments. Sori orbicular or elliptic, abaxial or semilateral on basal acroscopic veins; indusia pale brown, small, orbicular-reniform, occasionally oblong, or J-shaped, membranous, slightly erose at margin, fugacious, apparently exindusiate when mature. Perispore folded. 2n = 80.

It is a temperate plant.

The young leaves are used as a vegetable.