Plants evergreen, large. Rhizome creeping to ascending or erect, erect trunk up to 50 cm tall, up to 10 cm in diam., apex densely scaly; scales dark brown or yellow-brown, linear-lanceolate or linear, margin black and toothed, apex long curly; fronds sparse or caespitose. Fertile frond up to 3 m; stipe black-brown at base, upward green-stramineous or green-brown, robust, up to 1 m, up to 1 cm in diam., base densely scaly; scales similar to those on rhizome; hairs brown, curly, short, soft, deciduous; stipe upward gradually glabrous; lamina 2-pinnate or 2-pinnate with pinnules pinnatifid, deltoid, up to 2 × 1 m, apex acuminate; pinnae up to 14 pairs, alternate, ascending; lower pinnae ovate or broadly lanceolate, up to 70 cm, upper pinnae lanceolate, base shortly stalked or adnate; pinnules up to 15 pairs, alternate, spreading, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, up to 20 × 4 cm, shortly stalked or sessile, base shallowly cordate or broadly cuneate, pinnatilobate to pinnatifid or incised, apex long acuminate or caudate; pinnule lobes up to 15 pairs, slightly ascending, margin shallowly serrate or subentire, apex rounded or truncate; basal basiscopic lobes often prominently large; veins pinnate, veinlets up to 8 pairs per pinnule lobe, simple, ascending, reaching pinnule margin (basal acroscopic veinlets sometimes ending apart from margin). Lamina papery when dry, usually green or dark green on adaxial surface, costae, costules, and midribs with ± white or light brown, subspherical glands, gray-brown abaxially, with brown, linear scales and uniseriate short soft hairs; rachis and costae green-stramineous, glabrous. Sori linear, up to 7 pairs per pinnule lobe, most single, few double, inframedial from costa to 1/2 length of veinlet; indusia brown, membranous, margin ciliate, opening acroscopically, persistent. Spores subreniform, perispore prominent, few rugate. 2n = 82.
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Rhizome erect, forming a short trunk, scaly at the apex; scales brown with black toothed margins. Fronds crowded, arcuate. Stipe 20-60 cm long, black and scaly at the base. Lamina 1-2-pinnate, 80-150 cm long, 60-80 cm wide, dark green; primary pinnae to 40 cm long, 10-20 cm wide. Secondary pinnae oblong-elliptic, 8-12 cm long, 15-20 mm wide; pinna margins crenate or lobed half-way to the costae; apex attenuate; abaxial surface and, especially, costae and veins with red glandular hairs; veins free, in pinnate groups of 5-8. Sori on most veins, commonly paired; indusium brown, with fringed margins.
A fern. It varies. It can have an erect trunk 50 cm tall and 10 cm across. This is covered with brown scales. The fronds are almost erect and up to 1.2 m long. The stalk (stipe) is stout and fleshy. It is dark towards the base.
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