Polypodium heteractis Mettenius ex Kuhn, Linnaea 36: 140. 1869; Cyclophorus heteractis (Mettenius ex Kuhn) C. Christensen; C. heteractis var. minor C. Christensen; Niphobolus heteractis (Mettenius ex Kuhn) J. Smith; Pyrrosia fuohaiensis Ching & K. H. Shing; P. heteractis var. minor (C. Christensen) Ching; P. latifolia Ching & S. K. Wu; P. lingua (Thunberg) Farwell var. heteractis (Mettenius ex Kuhn) Hovenkamp.

Plants 10-30 cm tall. Rhizome long creeping, 1.2-3.7 mm in diam., in cross section with a few sclerenchyma strands; phyllopodia (0.5-)2-8 cm apart, lateral buds alternating with phyllopodia. Scales peltate, usually distinctly spreading, 5-9.5 × 0.9-2 mm, base dark at attachment, entire to irregularly dentate; acumen shiny, light brown, with long, curly marginal as well as superficial cilia; short, ± ovate scales occasionally present. Fronds weakly dimorphic, stipitate. Sterile fronds: stipe 4-14 cm; lamina widest at or below middle, 14-25 × 4-7.5 cm, base truncate to ± cuneate, apex acuminate or occasionally apiculate. Fertile fronds similar or somewhat narrower. Hydathodes distinct, ± superficial. Indument persistent, dimorphic, dense, whitish to grayish brown; upper layer with hairs 0.4-0.8 mm in diam., with appressed, boat-shaped rays, lower layer with woolly rays. Sori superficial, without central bundle of paraphyses. Sporangia with stalks 0.75-1 × as long as capsule.

The Chinese specimens of Pyrrosia heteractis are distinct from P. lingua in the wider and distinctly more spreading rhizome scales and the often wider lamina.

On tree trunks, rocks, and rocky crevices in forests; 1200-2600 m. Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].