Pteris serrulata Linnaeus f. (1782), not Forsskål (1775).

Plants 30-45 cm tall. Rhizome erect, short, 1-1.5 cm in diam., apex with black-brown scales. Fronds many, clustered, distinctly dimorphic. Sterile fronds: stipe straw-colored or dark brown with straw-colored margins, slightly lustrous, 15-25 cm × 1.5-2 mm, glabrous; lamina 1-pinnate, ovate-oblong in outline, 20-40 × 15-20 cm; pinnae often 3 pairs, opposite, ascending, linear-lanceolate, 8-15 × 0.6-1 cm, sessile, base acuminate, margins cartilaginous, with irregular acute teeth, basal pinna often forked, with 1 or 2 basal lobes, sometimes subpinnate, upper pinnae decurrent at base to form wings along rachis 3-5 mm wide, attenuate at base of rachis; terminal pinna 3-forked. Fertile fronds: stipe long, pinnae 4-6 pairs, linear, 10-15 × 0.4-0.7 cm, sterile margins serrate, remainder entire, basal pair subpinnate, with stipe ca. 1 cm, others sessile, basal 2 or 3 pairs often 2- or 3-forked, upper pairs with base long decurrent along rachis to form wings 3-4 mm wide; midvein prominent on both sides, straw-colored; veins conspicuous, sparse, simple or forked, sometimes both surfaces with short raised false veins parallel to veins. Lamina pale green, herbaceous when dried, glabrous throughout; rachises straw-colored, slightly lustrous. 2n = 116.

The type of Pteris multifida is from a cultivated plant at the Botanical Garden in Paris. The hybrid between P. multifida and P. ryukyuensis is known from Taiwan and has been named P. ×namegatae Kurata (see Knapp, Ferns Fern Allies Taiwan, 369-370, 477. 2011).

The authors have not seen material of Pteris multifida f. serrulata R. H. Miao (Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 36: 115. 1997).

On walls or on limestone; below ca. 1000 m. Anhui, Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei (Beidaihe), Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi (Qinling), Shandong (Laoshan, Lushan, Taishan), Sichuan, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Japan (including Ryukyu Islands), S Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam].