Rhizomes short, erect; stipes many, tufted, 15-30 cm. long, deep-brown, lustrous on lower half, promi­nently scaly especially toward base; scales brown, narrowly to broadly ovate, 5-10 mm. long, abruptly acuminate, lustrous, spreading, entire; blades ovate, 20-40 cm. long, 15-25 cm. wide, abruptly acuminate, bipinnate, in the lower part often tripinnate, the rachis straw-colored, sparsely scaly while young; pinnae 5-7 pairs, narrowly oblong-ovate, the median equi­lateral, the lowest deltoid-ovate, oblique, acuminate, short- petiolulate; pinnules thick-chartaceous, deltoid-oblong to -lance­olate, 1.5-4 cm. long, 8-25 mm. wide, obtuse to acute, acute- or mucronate-toothed, glabrous on both sides, pinnately parted to lobed, the lowest posterior pinnule of the lowest pinnae largest, acuminate, 4-8 cm. long; sori on upper half of the blade, mostly nearly median, in 2 series on the ultimate pin­nule; indusia orbicular-reniform, 1-1.2 mm. wide, entire, slightly incurved and thinner on margin.  

Hokkaido, Hon­shu, Shikoku, Kyushu.