Rhizome 2-5 cm thick, smooth and snake-like when old, bearing scattered adpressed scale bases. Scales 2-10 mm long, 0.7-1.5 mm wide, stiff, brown to very dark brown; bases rounded, appressed, overlapping, gradually tapering to a narrow acute ±spreading apex; margins paler and bearing fine cilia. Nest fronds ±ovate, 15-29 cm long, 12-16 cm wide, shallowly or deeply lobed; lobe apices rounded. Foliage fronds to 130 cm long; stipe to 38 cm long, obscurely winged almost to the base. Lamina ovate, 1-pinnate becoming pinnatifid near apex, 50-98 cm long, coriaceous, dark green; lobes sessile, strap-like, abruptly decurrent to midrib of frond, to 23 cm long, 2.5 cm wide, usually narrowed towards their bases, tapering to a mostly acute apex; margins shallowly incised (1 incision between most pairs of main lateral veins); costular nectary either in basiscopic or acroscopic pinna axil or both, or absent. Sori round, 1-2 mm diam. or oblong to linear, to 2 mm wide, 3-4 mm long, irregularly placed between major lateral veins, impressed into the lamina surface, producing rounded protuberances on the upper surface. Spores irregular, some globose, many shrivelled or lacking contents, 45-55 µm diam. Partially fertile triploid
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