Rhizome tufted, shortly creeping rhizome and sometimes a short but robust erect radial caudex at least 3-5 cm diam. and rarely more than 15 cm above ground; scales linear, narrowly elliptic or triangular, c. 1.6 by 0.4 cm, entire, brown to reddish brown, tending to bicolorous, sometimes shiny. Fronds dimorphic, mature sterile fronds 80-200 by 12-44 cm; fertile fronds of about the same dimensions but with pinnae surfaces very reduced. Stipes of sterile fronds 10-120 cm, up to twice the length of the lamina, up to 2.5 cm diam. at the base, smooth, brown or green, drying to fawn or stramineous, persistent and dense scales up to c. 20 cm above the base, scales linear-narrowly elliptic to triangular, acuminate, tapering evenly from a short basal region to a fine hair-like apex, 1.3-2.5 by 0.15-0.3 cm at base, mostly entire (some with well-spaced short outgrowths), brown to shiny reddish brown, sometimes tending to bicolorous with paler margins; fertile fronds often with stipes longer than the lamina. Lamina ovate-deltoid, 1-pinnate, widest 3-5 pairs of pinnae above the base, mid to dark green on upper and lower surfaces, sometimes paler underneath for plants from more exposed locations, young fronds red, 14-32 pairs of pinnae. Rhachis and costae brown, green or pale fawn, scales 0.2-0.7 by 0.5-2 mm (0.2-0.3 cm by 0.5-1 mm for costal scales), irregular, linear, narrowly elliptic or triangular (costal scales broad at the base and tapering to apex, entire or toothed), pale whitish to brown, and occasionally with a few cells with slightly darker point of attachment; scales mostly not persistent. Sterile pinnae oblong-narrowly elliptic, rounded at rhachis, acuminate, in mature fronds usually tapering evenly to their apices, 5-22 by 0.8-2 cm, sessile, subpetiolate to shortly petiolate, uppermost few pairs sometimes basiscopically adnate, often crowded and overlapping in plants from open locations, more spaced out for forest plants, coriaceous, coarser for plants from exposed locations, margins often wavy, never revolute, varying from serrate to entire for most of their length, becoming serrate to finely dentate towards their apices, basal pinnae only slightly reduced, lowest pinnae set at an angle of c. 45° to the rhachis, terminal pinnae slightly longer than subterminal ones. Fertile pinnae linear, 11-22 by 0.2-0.7 cm, sessile or shortly petiolate, sometimes basiscopically adnate for several pairs below the frond apex, increasingly towards lamina base having an expanded sterile region widening towards the rhachis (but not as wide as the pinnae of the sterile lamina), costal scales narrow, acuminate, mostly pale, often white, sori covering underside of fertile pinnae except for narrower sterile region of c. 1 cm at the pinna apices. Spores 77 by 59.7 µm (from 3 herbarium specimens), perine costate and loosely reticulate, costae wide, low and rounded, surface smooth, scabrous or microreticulate, exine smooth to scabrous.
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