Dryopteris cnemidaria Christ, Bull. Acad. Int. Géogr. Bot. 20: 140. 1910.

Plants 1.2-1.5 m tall. Rhizome creeping or erect. Stipe stramineous, 0.6-1 m, sparsely scaly at base; rhizome and basal stipe scales appressed, lanceolate, 10-15 × 1-2 mm. Lamina 2-pinnatifid, ca. 1.2 × 0.6 m; lateral pinnae ca. 30 pairs; basal pinnae usually largest, broadly lanceolate, 25-46 × 4-10 cm, deeply lobed nearly to costae, stalks 1-4 cm, basal basiscopic lobes slightly elongate; pinna lobes 30-34 pairs, (2-)3-5 × 0.6-0.8 cm, margins ± crenate to crenate-dentate, with a sharp tooth in each sinus, apex acute; lamina papery, greenish when dry; costae glabrous; veins free, veinlets 15-18 pairs on each lobe, 2-4 times furcate. Sori dorsal on veinlets, (10-)15-17 pairs on each lobe; indusia persistent, glabrous.

Forests; 100-1300 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Taiwan, Yunnan [India, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam].