Rhizome erect or semi-erect caudex up to 100 cm in height and 5-10 cm (or more) diam., robust, densely scaly at the apex and with a crown of fronds, scales linear tri-angular, 0.1-0.2 by 0.2 cm, entire, (apices finely acuminate), very dark brown to black, shiny. Fronds more or less dimorphic, erect, 20-150 by 9-30 cm. Fertile fronds about same dimensions as the sterile or larger. Stipes short, usually less than 1/6 length of the lamina, 3.5-31 cm, 0.2-0.35 cm diam., brown, darker at the base, densely and persistently scaly, scales at the base like those of the rhizome, further up the scales shorter and finer, leaving dark scars if deciduous. Lamina of both sterile and fertile fronds narrowly elliptic or ovate-narrowly elliptic, the widest region approximately midway, pinnate at the base becoming pinnatisect then deeply pinnatifid towards the apex, 20-53 pairs of pinnae. Rhachis and costae dark brown, reddish brown or paler, grooved above and with two lateral grooves from which the pinnae arise, lower surface of rhachis semi-terete and sometimes persistently scaly especially towards the lamina base, scales at the base of the rhachis similar to those of the upper stipe, becoming paler and smaller (less than 0.5 mm) on the costae. Sterile pinnae narrowly triangular, acuminate to attenuate, sometimes slightly falcate, pinnae of mid-region 2.5-15 by 0.8-2 cm, adnate to the rhachis, semi-adnate towards the base of the lamina, contiguous except sometimes for lowest pinnae, coriaceous, in living state dark green on upper surface, paler on lower surface, margins crenate to finely and sharply serrate and may be dentate towards their apices, sometimes finely revolute, veins immersed, visible and pale on abaxial surface, mostly once furcate, 9-11 per cm, terminating in clavate glands each in the axil of a serration and on the adaxial surface hardly raised from surface of lamina and concolorous (at least in dried state) with the lamina; basal pinnae sometimes falcate, often reduced to obtuse lobes, sessile or semi-adnate and sometimes deflexed, usually but not always more distant on rhachis, triangular pinnatisect segments at the apex with small terminal segment. Fertile pinnae varying from narrow with sori occupying the whole of the undersurface, to those with dimensions the same as the sterile pinnae and with the sori restricted to either side of the costa, pinnae usually widening at least a little towards the rhachis to become broadly adnate and decurrent, 6-20.5 by 0.3-0.8(-2) cm, fertile zone of pinnae often extending into the decurrent base at rhachis especially for pinnae towards apex, but not usually extending to the rhachis on pinnae towards the base of the lamina. Spores 48.1 by 35.7 µm (from 10 herbarium specimens), perine scabrous, granulose or microrugulose, exine smooth to granulose.
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