Dryopteris hirtirachis C. Christensen in H. Léveillé, Fl. Kouy-Tchéou, 49. 1915; Dryopteris christii H. Léveillé (1915), not C. Christensen (1905); Phegopteris pyrrhorhachis (Kunze) Tagawa var. hirtirachis (C. Christensen) Tagawa; Pseudophegopteris pyrrhorhachis (Kunze) Ching var. hirtirachis (C. Christensen) Ching; Thelypteris brunnea (Handel-Mazzetti) Ching var. hirtirachis (C. Christensen) Ching; T. pyrrhorhachis (Kunze) B. K. Nayar & S. Kaur subsp. hirtirachis (C. Christensen) Fraser-Jenkins.

Plants to 1 m. Rhizome ascending, stipe base with brown lanceolate scales. Fronds somewhat clustered; stipe red-castaneous, shiny, 20-55 cm, base with scales and whitish hairs; lamina oblong, mostly 50-80 × 15-35 cm, slightly tapering at base, 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, acuminate and pinnatifid at apex; pinnae opposite to subopposite, sessile, lanceolate, middle pinnae largest, 9-20 cm or more, mostly 2-6 cm wide, slightly asymmetrical, acute at apices, proximal 1 or 2 pairs shortened, proximal pair 3-10 cm, pinnatifid or pinnatisect; pinnules 12-20 pairs per pinna, opposite, spreading, basiscopic ones on proximal pinnae slightly longer than acroscopic ones, 0.8-3.5 × 0.5-0.8 cm, bases broadened and adnate to costae, connected to each other by narrow wings, apices shortly acuminate to obtuse, basal pair of pinnules same size or slightly longer, toothed to pinnatifid to 1/2 distance to costules; segments triangular-oblong, entire to dentate, obtuse to acute at apices. Veins visible on both sides, lateral veins simple or forked, mostly 4-15 or more pairs per pinnule, basal pair arising above bases of costules. Laminae herbaceous, drying deep green or brownish green, abaxial surfaces with dense short whitish hairs along costae, costules, veins, and between veins, adaxially with appressed thick short hairs along rachises, costae, and costules, rachises castaneous or red-castaneous and with sparse to dense, short, spreading hairs abaxially. Sori suborbicular to oblong, near ends of ultimate veinlets. Sporangia each usually with 2 or more short hairs below annulus.

Pseudophegopteris hirtirachis is similar to P. pyrrhorhachis in laminar outline but differs in its rhizomes shorter and ascending, rachises with short, spreading hairs abaxially, costules and costae with dense whitish short acicular hairs abaxially, and sporangia with 2 or more short hairs.

Forests beside streams; 1500-2000 m. N Guangdong, N Guangxi, S Guizhou, C Sichuan, Taiwan, W Yunnan [NE India, Nepal].