Plants 10-20 cm tall or taller. Rhizome short, up to ca. 5 mm in diam., in cross section with many scattered sclerenchyma strands; phyllopodia close together, lateral buds basal on phyllopodia. Scales peltate, 1.5-2.5 × 0.5-0.9 mm, blackish with a distinct light margin, ciliate. Fronds monomorphic, stipitate; stipe 4-23 cm, 1.5-2 × as long as lamina; lamina widest near base, 6-12 × 6-9 cm, pedately lobed to ca. 4/5 in 3-5 divisions; middle lobe up to 1.5-3.5 cm wide, lateral ones increasingly smaller; lamina base truncate to cordate, often slightly unequal, slightly decurrent. Hydathodes distinct, superficial to slightly sunken, without central bundle of paraphyses. Indument persistent, monomorphic, dense, brown; hairs 0.3-0.5(-0.8) mm in diam., with appressed, boat-shaped rays. Sori superficial, without central bundle of paraphyses. Sporangia sessile.