Blechnum capense Burm.F.

Plants terrestrial. Rhizome short-decumbent, irregularly branched, to 12 mm in diameter, set with roots, crowded stipe bases and scales, scales chartaceous, ferrugineous to stramineous, adnate, triangular to lanceolate, entire, apex terminates in a much enlarged thin-walled cell, to 10 mm long, to 4 mm wide. Fronds crowded, erect, dimorphic, fertile generally overtop the sterile, sterile to 1.04 m long, fertile to 1.28 m long; stipe firm, castaneous to ferrugineous, adaxially sulcate, sterile to 400 mm long, to 7 mm in diameter, fertile to 655 mm long, to 8 mm in diameter, initially closely set with scales, glabrous later, scales thinly chartaceous, stramineous, sessile, linear-flagelliform to filiform, cordate, entire, apex terminates in an oblong thin-walled cell, to 22 mm long, to 1.5 mm wide; lamina catadromous, 1-pinnate, sterile elliptic, with up to 21 free pinna pairs, to 645 mm long, to 210 mm wide, fertile elliptic, to 630 mm long, to 170 mm wide, with up to 20 free pinna pairs; rachis adaxially shallowly sulcate, initially closely set with scales similar to those on the stipe, glabrous or near-glabrous later; pinnae herbaceous, petiolate, petiole to 1 mm long, sterile oblong-cuneate, inequilateral, narrowly to broadly cuneate acroscopically, obtuse basiscopically becoming decurrent towards the apex, serrate, to 116 mm long, to 19 mm wide, spaced or imbricate, fertile linear, to 142 mm long, to 3 mm wide, spaced, adaxially initially set with ferrugineous to stramineous, filiform scales, becoming glabrous later, abaxially variously set with scales along the costa, scales chartaceous, ferrugineous, sessile, lanceolate-flagellate to ovate-flagellate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, entire or with a few marginal outgrowths, apex terminates in an oblong, thin-walled cell, to 4 mm long, to 1.2 mm wide; costa adaxially sulcate, sulcus confluent with that of the rachis, pronounced abaxially. Venation catadromous, evident, forked, the free vein branches terminate in an enlarged apex in the sinus between the teeth near the margin, in the fertile the veins form a near-marginal vascular commissure. Sori linear, extending the entire length of the pinnae; indusium chartaceous, brown, linear, repand to lacerate; sporangium long-stalked, simple, 3-seriate below the capsule, capsule broadly elliptic in lateral view, with 18(-22) indurated annulus cells, epistomium (4-)5(-8)-celled, hypostomium (4-)5(-8)-celled. Spores elliptic, monolete, with narrow reticulate ridges, (48-)56.8(-60) x (34-)38.2(-44) µm.