Dryopteris dracomontana Schelpe & N.C.Anthony

Plants terrestrial or epilithic. Rhizomes short-decumbent, closely branched, to 4 mm in diameter, set with roots, crowded stipe bases, and scales, the scales ferrugineous to stramineous, chartaceous, broadly attached, lanceolate to subulate, to 7 x 2 mm, truncate to cordate, entire, glandular along the margins and often also on the scale lamina, or with a few short scattered uniseriate outgrowths, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of oblong cells. Fronds crowded, caespitose, dimorphic, the fertile overtop the sterile, the sterile appressed to the ground or held at a small angle to it, to 390 mm long, the fertile erect, to 405 mm long; stipe bases castaneous, stramineous higher up, basally adaxially flattened or with a shallow and narrow sulcus, shallowly sulcate higher up, the sterile to 250 mm long, to 2.5 mm in diameter, the fertile to 220 mm long, to 3.5 mm in diameter, eglandular, or sparsely to densely glandular, sparsely to moderately scaled, the scales ferrugineous to stramineous, broadly attached to short-stalked, ovate to filiform, to 11 x 3 mm, cordate to cuneate, the margins entire or with a few scattered short or long uniseriate outgrowths, often also glandular, glands may also occur on the scale laminae, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of oblong cells; laminae anadromous, becoming catadromous towards the apex, firmly herbaceous to coriaceous, to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, ovate to oblong-acute, the sterile to 175 mm long, with up to 11 petiolated pinna pairs, the fertile to 215 mm long, with up to 13 petiolated pinna pairs; rachises pale green, drying stramineous, adaxially shallowly sulcate, becoming narrowly winged towards the lamina apex, glandular and sparsely to moderately scaled, the scales ferrugineous to stramineous, chartaceous, broadly attached or short-stalked, lanceolate to filiform, to 6 x 1.2 mm, entire or with scattered glands along the margin (often also on the scale lamina), the larger scales generally with a few short uniseriate filiform outgrowths, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of cells; pinnae petiolate, the petiole to 5 mm long in the sterile frond, generally slightly longer in the fertile frond, subopposite to alternate, widely or closely spaced at the base, mostly somewhat imbricate towards the lamina apex, the basal pinna pair symmetric or poorly basiscopically developed, ovate to oblong-obtuse, to 47 mm long, to 19 mm wide, those higher up oblong-obtuse to oblong-acute, to 1-pinnate-pinnatifid, the basal pinnae of the sterile frond with up to 3 petiolated pinnule pairs, the basal pinnae of the fertile frond to 40 mm long, to 14 mm wide, with up to 4 petiolated pinnule pairs, the basal pair longest or slightly reduced; pinna-rachises adaxially flattened or shallowly sulcate, narrowly winged, set with glands and scales, the scales ferrugineous to stramineous, chartaceous, short-stalked, subulate to filiform, to 4 x 0.4 mm, entire or with a few glands near the base, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of cells; pinnules lobed to pinnatifid, spaced or imbricate, slightly oblique, ovate to oblong-obtuse, dentate, the basiscopic pinnule on the basal pinnae to 13 mm long, to 8 mm wide, the acroscopic pinnule on the basal pinnae up to 9 mm long, to 7 mm wide, adaxially glabrous or sparsely glandular, abaxially sparsely to closely glandular, the glands clavate, (66-)93(-124) mm long, also with isocytic or moniliform hairs, the hairs often with a glandular cell near the base. Venation anadromous to catadromous, obscure, ending in the teeth near the margin. Stomata mostly of the polocytic type, (40-)52(-66) mm long. Sori circular, to 1.2 mm in diameter, medial on unmodified anadromous vein branches, the sporangia often confluent at maturity; sporangia stalks simple or glandular, the capsule with (11-)14(-17) indurated annulus cells, the epistomium 5(-6)-celled, the hypostomium 5(-7)-celled. Indusia brown, firmly herbaceous, reniform, to 1.6 mm in diameter, entire to erose, often with a few scattered glands along margin. Spores ellipsoidal, monolete, the perispore forming tubercules and short ridges, ruminate, (38-)43(-48) x (26-)31(-36) µm.