Polypodium scolopendrium Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 1. 1825; Lepisorus excavatus (Bory ex Willdenow) Ching var. scolopendrium (Buchanan-Hamilton ex D.Don) Ching; Drynaria sesquipedalis J. Smith, nom. illeg. superfl.; Lepisorus paleparaphysus Y. X. Lin; L. sesquipedalis Fraser-Jenkins, nom. illeg. superfl.; L. virescens Ching & S. K. Wu; Pleopeltis scolopendrium (Buchanan-Hamilton ex D.Don) Alston & Bonner; Polypodium excavatum Bory ex Willdenow var.concolor Takeda.

Plants 15-30 cm tall. Rhizomes creeping, strong, 3-6 mm in diam., densely scaly; scales appressed, brown, lanceolate, 4-6 × 0.8-3 mm, thin in texture, margin entire, apex acuminate; lumina subsquare and transparent. Fronds 0.2-2 cm apart; stipe straw-colored, 2-3(-5) cm, 1-2 mm in diam., sparsely scaly at base; lamina reddish brown on both surfaces when dried, narrowly lanceolate, 12-45 × (1-)1.5-4.5 cm, widest at or below middle, herbaceous or thinly papery, abaxially with small, lanceolate, scales on costa, bicolored, margin ± flat, straight or slightly undulate, apex acute or long caudate-acuminate; costa raised on both sides, veinlets slightly visible. Sori usually along distal half of lamina, close to costa, orbicular or elliptic, 2-3 mm in diam.; paraphyses usually brown, sometimes colorless on immature fronds, orbicular, 0.5-0.7 mm in diam., margin entire.

The original name, Polypodium scolopendrium, must be considered a homonym of P. scolopendria, the basionym of Phymatosorus scolopendria (N. L. Burman) Pichi Sermolli. The epithet was validated at varietal rank by Ching and later elevated to species rank by Mehra and Bir. Smith published Drynaria sesquipedalis as an intended new name for Polypodium scolopendrium Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don, not of N. L. Burman, but included Pleopeltis nuda Hooker, thus making it illegitimate. Fraser-Jenkins missed this when publishing Lepisorus sesquipedalis to use for this taxon. Bir and Trikha (Amer. Fern J. 64(2): 54. 1974) chose L. leiopteris (Kunze) Bir & Trikha as the name for this taxon, but Fraser-Jenkins (Taxon. Revis. Indian Subcontinental Pteridophytes, 38. 2008) claims that Polypodium leiopteris is a synonym of L. nudus.

Lepisorus virescens was separated from L. scolopendrium by having the lamina less than 20 cm, thin in texture, and with narrowly attenuate base merging into an indistinct stipe and the plagiotropic, oblong sori, closer to the costa than to the margin. We checked more specimens and observed living plants and found that there is considerable variation in these leaf characters, such that they cannot be used to distinguish taxa. Lepisorus virescens is just a juvenile form of L. scolopendrium. Lepisorus paleparaphysus was distinguished from L. scolopendrium by the nearly colorless paraphyses. We checked more specimens and found colorless paraphyses present within other species of this section, especially in immature laminae.

On tree trunks or rocks in forests; (500-)1400-2800(-3200) m. Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, ?Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Nepal].