Polystichum monticola N.C.Anthony & Schelpe

Plants terrestrial or epilithic. Rhizome short-decumbent, closely branched, to 14 mm in diameter, set with roots, crowded persistent stipe bases, and paleae; paleae broadly attached, ferrugineous, membranous, narrowly oblong to narrowly linear, cordate, the margins entire or with widely spaced, short, apically or basally directed outgrowths, the apex acicular or with a thin-walled apical cell, to 26 x 1.8 mm. Fronds closely spaced, 5-8 per plant, suberect to arching, to 840 mm long: stipe proximally castaneous, stramineous distally, adaxially sulcate, to 385 mm long, to 5 mm in diameter, densely paleated; larger paleae broadly attached, concolorous or bicolorous, stramineous or with a castaneous central section, these occurring on the proximal third of the stipe, lanceolate to broadly ovate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, the margins with closely to widely spaced, short, straight or curved, often branched fimbriae, the apex acicular or with a thin-walled apical cell, to 20 x 7 mm; smaller paleae short-stalked, narrowly lanceolate to narrowly triangular, cordate to cordate-imbricate, the margins proximally with closely spaced, short and long, often branched fimbriae, the apex entire or with short, firm, widely spaced fimbriae terminating in an acicular cell or with a thin-walled cell: lamina 2-pinnate to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, firmly herbaceous, dark green adaxially, paler abaxially, narrowly ovate to elliptic, to 510 mm long, proximally somewhat reduced, the proximal pinnae usually somewhat deflexed: rachis stramineous, adaxially sulcate, densely paleated; paleae short-stalked, ferrugineous, chartaceous, narrowly lanceolate, narrowly ovate or narrowly triangular, cordate to cordate-imbricate, the margins proximally with long and short, straight or twisted marginal outgrowths becoming simple towards the apex, the apex usually acicular, rarely terminating in a thin-walled apical cell, to 11.5 x 2.5 mm: pinnae often widely spaced proximally, somewhat overlapping distally, oblong-attenuate to narrowly oblong-attenuate, to 170 x 30 mm: pinna-rachis stramineous, adaxially sulcate, densely set with paleae similar to but smaller than those on the rachis, to 7 x 1.5 mm: pinnules opposite to alternate, closely spaced, often imbricate, asymmetric, narrowly ovate to ovate, acroscopically auricled, serrate to lobate-serrate, sharp-tipped to aristate, the proximal acroscopic pinnule the largest, the proximal pinnules often acroscopically incised to or near to costa, to 22 mm long; adaxially with a few simple and filiform or proximally hastate paleae along the proximal part of the costa, the apical cell always acicular, to 4.5 mm long; abaxially sparsely set with ferrugineous, short-stalked, narrowly triangular to subulate paleae, proximally usually with a few short or long, straight or curved outgrowths, the apical cell always acicular, to 4 x 0.9 mm long. Venation immersed. Sori circular, c. 1.5 mm in diameter, essentially uniseriate, terminal or near terminal on abbreviated vein branches: sporangium with 7-(12)-21 indurated annulus cells; stalk eglandular: indusium stramineous to castaneous, often black-centred, peltate, circular, entire to repand, the maximum radius 0.31-(0.61)-1.04 mm, persistent. Spores brown, 32 per sporangium, the perispore variable, folded to form a reticulum of inflated or compressed ridges and/or tubercles, the crests and areas between echinulate to spiculate, the areas between ridges perforated, the exospore 38-(59.07)-74 x 22-(43.76)-60 µm.