Dryopteris inaequalis (Schlecht.) Kuntze

Plants terrestrial or epilithic, mostly with 2-4 fronds. Rhizomes short-creeping, sparsely irregularly branched, to 14 mm in diameter, set with roots, closely to widely spaced persistent stipe bases and scales, the scales stramineous to ferrugineous, chartaceous, broadly attached, ovate to linear-acuminate, to 20 x 3 mm, cuneate to cordate, entire, or with a few widely spaced, uniseriate, multicellular hairs and pyriform glands along the margin, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of oblong cells. Fronds suberect to arching, to 1.15 m long; stipes proximally castaneous, stramineous to greenish higher up, proximally adaxially flattened, shallowly sulcate higher up, to 540 mm long, to 6 mm in diameter, proximally densely scaled, sparsely to moderately scaled higher up, the scales stramineous to ferrugineous, chartaceous, the larger scales broadly attached, the smaller sessile or short-stalked, ovate to narrowly lanceolate, or filiform, to 24 x 4 mm, cordate to cuneate, the margins entire or denticulate, often with a few widely spaced, multicellular hairs and pyriform glands (which may also occur on the scale surface), marginal hairs on the smaller scales are mostly confined to the basal region, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of oblong cells; laminae anadromous, becoming catadromous towards the apex, herbaceous, 2-pinnate to to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, narrowly ovate to ovate, to 620 mm long, to 370 mm wide, with up to 14 petiolated pinna pairs; rachises green, drying stramineous, adaxially shallowly sulcate, becoming narrowly winged towards the lamina apex, eglandular or sparsely to densely glandular, and sparsely to moderately set with scales and branched hairs, the scales stramineous to ferrugineous, chartaceous, sessile or short-stalked, narrowly lanceolate to filiform, to 6 x 1.5 mm, cuneate, entire, often with a few twisted filiform outgrowths, mostly from near the base, and glands, which may also occur on the scale surface, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of oblong cells; pinnae petiolate, the petiole to 14 mm long, subopposite to alternate, the pinnae to 2-pinnate, the basal pinna pair inaequilaterally triangular to broadly ovate, or deltate, to 206 mm long, to 118 mm wide, oblong-acuminate, ovate or lanceolate towards the lamina apex, the basal pinna pair shorter or longer than the next pair above, basally widely spaced, often somewhat imbricate higher up, with up to 6 petiolated pinnule pairs; pinna-rachises adaxially shallowly sulcate, the sulcus confluent with that of the rachis, pronounced abaxially, narrowly winged for most of the length, the wing proximally less conspicuous, sparsely to densely glandular, abaxially sparsely to moderately set with hairs and scaled, the hairs and scales stramineous to ferrugineous, membranous to chartaceous, sessile or short-stalked, narrowly lanceolate to filiform, to 4 x 1 mm, cordate to narrowly cuneate, the margins entire or denticulate, often with a few widely spaced twisted filiform outgrowths, mostly from near the scale base, and glands, the scale apex filiform, terminating in a short uniseriate series of oblong cells; pinnules petiolate, the petiole to 3 mm long, the pinnules to 1-pinnate, widely spaced, often somewhat imbricate, aequilaterally to inaequilaterally narrowly triangular, ovate-obtuse, or oblong-obtuse, the distal pinnules basiscopically decurrent, the acroscopic pinnule on the basal pinnae to 43 mm long, to 20 mm wide, the basiscopic pinnule on the basal pinnae to 80 mm long, to 28 mm wide, often with a single pairs of petiolated segments; costae adaxially shallowly sulcate, pronounced abaxially, narrowly winged along its entire length, the wing continuous with that of the pinna-rachises wing, glandular or eglandular, variously set with isocytic or moniliform hairs and scales, the hairs often bear one or more glands near the base; segments spaced, inaequilaterally narrowly ovate-obtuse to oblong-obtuse, to 17 mm long, to 9 mm wide, basiscopically decurrent, shallowly to deeply lobed; lobes serrate, adaxially glabrous or with a few filiform scales along the costae, abaxially with uniseriate hairs often bearing one or more gland-like cells near the base, and with filiform scales bearing one or more oblong glands and often a unicellular hair near the base, mostly occurring along the costae, and/or simple isocytic or moniliform hairs, occurring on the veins and lamina, and/or clavate to oblong glands (74-)109(-170) µm long, occurring on the costae, veins and/or lamina near the veins, or eglandular. Venation anadromous, becoming catadromous distally, pinnately branched in the segments, the veins branches pinnately branched, forked, or simple near the apex, evident, the branches end in the teeth near the margin, the endings slightly enlarged. Stomata of the anomo-and polocytic types, (30-)42(-58) µm long. Sori circular, to 1.6 mm in diameter at maturity, medial on the predominantly anadromous vein branches, discrete, essentially biseriate on the segments; receptacles often haired; sporangia stalk simple, with one or more glandular cells, or with a long uniseriate hair, the capsule with (9-)13(-20) indurated annulus cells, epistomium (3-)4(-7)-celled, hypostomium (3-)4(-8)-celled. Indusia persistent, brown, firmly herbaceous, reniform, to 1.6 mm in diameter, glabrous, with unicellular glands along the margin and/or surface, rarely also with a pluricellular uniseriate hair along the margin, the margin often strongly revolute. Spores ellipsoidal, monolete, perispore variable, folded into low tubercules or reticulate ridges, finely rugose to ruminate, (30-)38(-50) x (20-)26(-31) µm.