Alsophila polypodioides Hooker in Nightingale, Oceanic Sketches, 131. 1835; Cheilanthes gigantea Cesati; Dryopteris brunneovillosa C. Christensen; D. leucolepis (C. Presl) Maxon; Lastrea leucolepis C. Presl; Macrothelypteris leucolepis (C. Presl) Ching; Phegopteris cheilanthoides (Baker) Alderwerelt; Polypodium cheilanthoides Baker; Thelypteris leucolepis (C. Presl) Ching.

Plants ca. 1.5 m tall. Rhizomes short, decumbent, thick, with ascending apex. Fronds tufted; stipes ca. 80 cm, pale, dull, basal half at least bearing copious slender hairs and scales; scales thin, pale, linear, bearing copious very slender unicellular hairs and sometimes a few of more than one cell, base of scales thick and dark, of larger ones flat, of smaller ones terete, leaving warts when scales fall; main rachises pale, hairy as stipe, with many small warts abaxially; laminae ca. 80 cm; basal 2 or 3 pairs of pinnae to 35 × 15 cm, upper ones gradually shortened; basal pinnules of lower pinnae somewhat shortened; pinna rachis hairy adaxially, with narrow pale scales abaxially; largest pinnules sessile, ca. 10 × 2.5 cm, acuminate at apices, almost at right angle to pinna rachis, segments all with broad bases connected by a very narrow wing along costae; costae densely hairy adaxially (sparsely hairy on costules), abaxially with very narrow pale scales, short capitate hairs also present; segments almost at right angles to costae, larger ones deeply lobed. Veinlets forked or shortly pinnate, laminae adaxially bearing capitate hairs. Sori small, on acroscopic branch of a vein; indusium small, persistent, bearing many short capitate hairs; sporangia with 2 or 3 similar capitate hairs near annulus; spores not winged, surface apparently minutely and irregularly granular.

Forest margins; 700-2100 m. Taiwan [Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand; Australia, Pacific islands].