Plants 30-40 cm tall. Rhizomes short, decumbent or ascending, apices including stipe bases with sparse deep brown small scales and grayish white short acicular hairs. Fronds subclustered; stipes 14-20 cm, stramineous, glaucous, shortly hairy; laminae oblong-lanceolate, 16-22 × 8-15 cm, not tapering to bases, pinnate-pinnatifid, apices long acuminate and pinnatifid; pinnae 12-15 pairs, opposite or distal ones alternate, sessile, proximal pair usually slightly shortened, bases slightly tapering, reflexed, above several pairs linear-lanceolate, 4-8 × 1.2-1.7 cm, bases tapering, rounded-truncate, symmetrical, pinnatifid and reaching narrow wings on both sides of costae, apices caudate-acuminate; segments 14-20 pairs, spreading, approximate, oblong-lanceolate, 4-7 × 2-3 mm, entire or sometimes undulate along margins, rounded-obtuse at apices. Veins evident abaxially, veinlets usually forked, or distal ones simple, 5-7 pairs per segment, proximal pair arising from above base of costules. Laminae thinly herbaceous, when dry yellowish green, abaxially with grayish white short hairs, hairs along rachises and costae denser, adaxially densely covered with grayish yellow acicular hairs along rachises and costae. Sori small, orbicular, 2-4 pairs per segment, attached near ends of lateral veins, close to margins; indusia small, orbicular-reniform, membranous, green, when dry brownish, sometimes lacerate along margins and acicular hairy, persistent. 2n = 124.

Streamsides in valley forests, broad-leaved forests on slopes; 400-1700 m. N Guangdong, Taiwan, SE Xizang, W Yunnan [Japan, Philippines].