Polystichum dracomontanum Schelpe & N.C.Anthony

Plants terrestrial or epilithic. Rhizome decumbent, stoloniferous, to 10 mm in diameter, densely set with roots, persistent stipe bases, and paleae; paleae ferrugineous, broadly attached, chartaceous, linear-attenuate, entire, the apex terminating in a small thin-walled cell, to 28 x 2 mm. Fronds closely spaced, 5-7 per plant, erect or arching, to 1.15 m long: stipe proximally castaneous, stramineous distally, adaxially sulcate, to 540 mm long x 6 mm in diameter, initially densely paleated, becoming glabrous with age, proximally with paleae similar to those on the rhizome, the paleae distally of two types; larger paleae broadly attached, ferrugineous to castaneous throughout or stramineous to ferrugineous with a castaneous central region or apex, chartaceous, narrowly ovate to ovate, cordate, the margins with short, straight or curved projections, the apex often flagelliform, terminating in a thin-walled cell, to 25 x 6 mm; smaller paleae ferrugineous to stramineous, membranous, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, the margins closely set with short and/or long, straight or curved, often branched outgrowths, the apex flagelliform, acicular or terminating in an oblong to clavate thin-walled cell, to 11.5 x 1.8 mm: lamina 2-pinnate to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, with up to 24 free pinna pairs, ovate, to 610 mm long: rachis stramineous to greenish, adaxialy sulcate, initially densely paleated; paleae short-stalked, membranous, narrowly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, the margins proximally with long and/or short, straight or curved, often branched outgrowths, the apex acicular or flagelliform and terminating in a thin-walled cell, to 7.3 x 1.6 mm: pinnae proximally short-stalked, 1-pinnate to 1-pinnate-pinnatifid, with up to 18 free pinnule pairs, proximally widely spaced, often slightly reduced, distally often overlapping, ovate to narrowly ovate, to 105 mm long: pinna-rachis stramineous, adaxially sulcate, initially densely paleated; paleae stramineous, membranous, narrowly oblong to narrowly triangular, cordate to cordate-imbricate, the margins proximally with long and/ or short, curved, often branched outgrowths, the apex acicular, to 9.75 x 2 mm: pinnules opposite to alternate, firmly herbaceous to coriaceous, dark green adaxially, paler abaxially, proximally widely spaced to imbricate, asymmetric, ovate to ovate-rhomboid, often somewhat falcate, acroscopically auricled, serrate to doubly-serrate, sharp-tipped to strongly aristate, the margins somewhat revolute, the proximal acroscopic pinnule usually slightly longer than the next, to 22 mm long; adaxially glabrous or with a few stramineous, membranous, filiform, acicular paleae along proximal part of the costa, to 9.5 mm long, abaxially sparsely paleated; paleae short-stalked, stramineous, membranous, filiform, narrowly oblong to narrowly triangular, cordate, the margins proximally with short and/ or long, straight or curved outgrowths, the apex terminating in an acicular cell or with a thin-walled cell, to 8 mm long. Venation immersed or raised. Sori circular, c. 2 mm in diameter, terminal or near-terminal on abbreviated vein branches, uniseriate, discrete to confluent at maturity: sporangium with 10-(13)-21 indurated annulus cells; stalk eglandular: indusium ferrugineous to stramineous, chartaceous, persistent, peltate, circular, with or without central processes, repand to weakly erose, the maximum radius 0.63-(0.81)-1.09 mm. Spores 64 per sporangium, brown, the perispore globose or folded to form inflated or narrow reticulate ridges, minutely and sparsely perforated, the ridges and areas between echinate to echinulate, the exospore 25-(54.24)-70 x 28-(41.04)-58 µm.