Dryopteris antarctica (Baker) C.Chr.

Plants terrestrial or epilithic. Rhizomes short, decumbent to suberect, closely branched, to 5 mm in diameter, set with roots, crowded persistent trophopods and scales, the scales ferrugineous to castaneous, often bicolorous, chartaceous, sessile, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, to 9 mm long, to 3 mm wide, cordate to cordate-imbricate, the margins entire or with scattered clavate glands, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a uniseriate series of moniliform cells. Fronds 4-6 per plant, caespitose, suberect to arching, to 1.03 m long; stipes base incrassate, castaneous, stramineous higher up, proximally adaxially flattened, shallowly sulcate distally, to 460 mm long, to 4.5 mm in diameter at the base, moderately set with glands and spreading scales, the scales ferrugineous, often slightly darker centrally, chartaceous, sessile, ovate to broadly ovate, to 11 x 4.5 mm, truncate to cordate-imbricate, the base often significantly enlarged, entire to repand, or with scattered glands and/or short marginal outgrowths ending in a short series of moniliform cells, the scale apex terminates in a short uniseriate series of moniliform cells; laminae anadromous, catadromous towards the apex, herbaceous to thinly herbaceous, ovate, to 3-pinnate, to 600 mm long, with up to 17 petiolated pinna pairs, the pinnae sub-opposite to alternate, remote at the base, more closely spaced to imbricate towards the apex; rachises greenish, sulcate adaxially, becoming narrowly winged towards the apex, often glandular, moderately to sparsely scaly, the scales ferrugineous to stramineous, chartaceous, sessile or short-stalked, lanceolate to subulate, to 4 mm long, to 2 mm wide, cuneate to cordate-imbricate, entire or with scattered glands and/or short outgrowths terminating in a short series of moniliform cells, the scale apex terminates in a short uniseriate series of cells, the cells oblong or moniliform, the scales adaxially on the rachis linear to filiform, to 5.0 x 0.4 mm; pinnae petiolate, the petiole to 20 mm long, the basal pinna pair mostly longest, basiscopically developed, inaequilaterally ovate, to 170 x 90 mm, to 2-pinnate, with up to 8 petiolated pinnule pairs, the pinnae higher up near symmetric, narrowly ovate to oblong-acuminate; pinna-rachises adaxially shallowly sulcate, the sulcus confluent with that of the rachis, narrowly winged for most of its length, glandular, also sparsely scaled, the scales stramineous, chartaceous, sessile or short-stalked, narrowly ovate to subulate, to 3.0 x 0.6 mm, cuneate to cordate, entire to closely set with glands and globose to subglobose non-glandular cells along the margin and often also on the scale laminae, or with short moniliform hairs along the margin, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short moniliform series of cells; pinnules petiolate, the petiole to 2 mm long, the pinnules symmetric or inaequilaterally narrowly ovate to oblong-obtuse, 1-pinnate, often acroscopically developed, the acroscopic pinnule on the basal pinnae to 28 mm long, to 12 mm wide, the basiscopic pinnule on the basal pinnae to 65 mm long, to 25 mm wide, not or slightly imbricate, with up to 4 petiolated segment pairs; costae adaxially shallowly sulcate; segments basiscopically decurrent along the costa, spaced, never imbricate, broadly ovate to oblong-obtuse, to 18 mm long, to 9 mm wide, lobed; lobes strongly dentate, the teeth acute to acute-falcate, glabrous adaxially, or sparsely set with glands (52-)116(-156) µm long along the veins and often along the lamina margin, often also with hairs and filiform scales near the base, abaxially sparsely to moderately set with glands similar to those on the adaxial surface, often also with hairs and scaled, the scales stramineous, chartaceous, sessile or short-stalked, ovate to subulate, to 1.8 mm long, to 0.7 mm wide, cuneate to truncate, entire or variously set with clavate glands and globose to subglobose non-glandular hairs along the margin, also with a few scattered moniliform hairs, with scattered glands, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short or long moniliform series of cells. Venation anadromous becoming catadromous towards lamina and pinna apex, pinnately branched in the segments, the vein branches forked or simple, evident, ending in the teeth near the margin, the endings often slightly enlarged. Stomata mostly of polocytic type, (40-)50(-64) µm long. Sori circular, at or near the apex of a mostly shortened anadromous vein branch, discrete at maturity, to 1.2 mm in diameter; sporangia stalks simple, the capsules with (11-)16(-21) indurated annulus cells, epistomium (4-)5-celled, hypostomium (4-)5(-6)-celled. Indusia brown, firmly herbaceous, reniform, entire to erose, often glandular along the margins, to 1.2 mm in diameter. Spores ellipsoidal, monolete, the perispore with compressed reticulate folds, densely echinulate, (44-)50(-58) x (32-)35(-42) µm.