Rhizome short-to long-creeping, 2-4 mm ø; scales castaneous, narrowly triangular, to 2.5 mm long, to c. 8-seriate at base, with acicular, uniseriate apex. Leaves close; petioles stramineous, abaxially terete, to 60 cm long, to 2 times as long as the lamina. Lamina oblong, to c. 40 by 25 cm, bipinnate, with up to 12 pinnae to a side and a conform terminal one; primary rachis like the petiole. Pinnae mostly subopposite, about their width apart, linear, long-acuminate, spreading or ascending, 8-25 cm long, l.25-2 cm wide, the upper ones little or not shortened, the terminal often the longest; secondary rachises abaxially terete at base, upward gradually bi-angular, sulcate only in the upper part. Pinnules to c. 50 to a side, dark green when dry, firmly herbaceous, spreading, mostly slightly overlapping, 1/4-elliptic or shortly ligulate, 7 to 11 mm long, 3.5-5 mm wide; margin crenate if sterile, otherwise entire. Upper pinnules gradually and strongly reduced, denticuliform below the pinnatifid, sometimes caudate pinna-apex. Veins immersed or more often slightly prominulous, mostly twice forked, close, free. Sori in fully fertile pinnules occupying all vein-ends but often only on the inner ones, continuous; indusium brownish, entire, c. 1/5-1/4 mm wide, falling short of the margin by its own width or less, reflexed and concealed at maturity. Spores pale brown, trilete, smooth, c. 22 /n.
In forests, on shaded rocks, mostly on poor, moist soil, to c. 700 m.
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