Polystichum transkeiense W.Jacobsen

Plants terrestrial or epilithic. Rhizome prostrate, wide-creeping, branched, to 10 mm in diameter, set with roots, closely to widely spaced persistent stipe bases, and scales (which are restricted to apical region), scales chartaceous, stramineous to castaneous, adnate, narrowly lanceolate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, margins repand to erose, generally without thin-walled hair-like cells, apex often flagelliform, usually terminating in a thin-walled cell, to 8.5 mm long, to 1.5 mm wide. Fronds usually widely spaced, arching, to 1.34 m long, 4-6 per plant; stipe firm, adaxially sulcate, proximally castaneous, stramineous distally, to 710 mm long, to 4 mm in diameter, proximally densely scaled, scales chartaceous, castaneous to stramineous, adnate, narrowly to broadly ovate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, margins repand, erose to fimbriate, with or without thin-walled cells, apex often flagelliform, terminating in a thin-walled cell, to 7 mm long, to 2.5 mm wide, distally sparsely scaled, becoming glabrous with age; lamina 2-or 3-pinnate, with up to 22 petiolated pinna pairs, firmly herbaceous, adaxially dark green, somewhat paler abaxially, ovate to broadly ovate, to 655 mm long, proximal pinna pair reduced in size; rachis stramineous to greenish, adaxially sulcate, sparsely scaled, scales chartaceous to membranous, stramineous, short-stalked, narrowly oblong to narrowly ovate, cordate to hastate, margins proximally repand, erose, or set with short and/or long irregular outgrowths, often with filiform outgrowths terminating in a thin-walled cell, distally repand to entire, flagelliform, terminating in a filiform cell or a thin-walled cell, to 6 mm long, to 1 mm wide; pinnae 1-pinnate or 2-pinnate, with up to 20 petiolated pinnule pairs, proximally widely spaced, usually not overlapping, distally frequently overlapping, proximal pinnae narrowly ovate to narrowly oblong-attenuate, those towards the middle of the lamina ovate, narrowly oblong to oblong-attenuate, to 240 mm long, to 75 mm wide; pinna-rachis stramineous, adaxially sulcate, sparsely to densely scaled, scales chartaceous to membranous, stramineous, short-stalked, linear, narrowly triangular to narrowly ovate, cordate to hastate, margins proximally with short and/or long irregular outgrowths often terminating in a thin-walled cell, distally entire, twisted, apex terminating in a filiform or thin-walled cell; pinnules short-stalked, opposite to alternate, widely spaced to overlapping, proximal acroscopic pinnule the largest, proximal basiscopic pinnule on basal pinna pair generally significantly smaller than the next basiscopic pinnule, inequilateral, ovate, ovate-oblong to ovate-rhomboid, acuminate to obtuse, acroscopically auricled, shallowly to deeply incised, lobate-serrate, lobes oblong, proximal acroscopic auricle obovate, sharp-tipped to aristate; costa adaxially proximally sulcate, sparsely scaled, scales membranous, stramineous, twisted, simple or proximally with short or long angular outgrowths, apex terminating in a filiform or a thin-walled cell, to 2.6 mm long, abaxially sparsely to moderately scaled, scales short-stalked, membranous, stramineous, narrowly triangular to narrowly ovate, cordate to cordate-imbricate, margins proximally erose or with short and/or long angular outgrowths or with long filiform outgrowths terminating in a thin-walled cell, distally entire, flagelliform, twisted, apex terminating in a filiform or thin-walled cell, to 1.5 mm long. Venation evident, pinnately branched. Sori circular, to 1 mm in diameter, near or at the apex of abbreviated veins, discrete at maturity; sporangium long-stalked, simple or glandular, capsule globose, with (10-)13(-19) indurated annulus cells, epistomium (3-)4(-5)-celled, hypostomium (4-)5(-6)-celled; indusium absent. Spores 64 per sporangium, brown, the perispore folded to form a reticulum of inflated ridges, the ridges with a high crest, variously but usually sparsely echinulate, minutely perforated, the exospore (32-)38.8(-46) x (22-)28.4(-36) µm.