Terrestrial, to 40 cm tall; rhizome with spreading scales, the petiole bases closely spaced. Leaves 1- or 2-pinnate; petioles dark, glabrate; leaflets asymmetrical, obscurely triangular to oblong, rounded to bluntly acuminate at apex, mostly 2-5 cm long, 1-3.5 cm wide, the proximal edge frequently semicordate and overlapping the rachis at base, usually glaucous and glabrous beneath, the sterile margins evenly and finely serrate. Sori interrupted along upper, lower, and sometimes proximal margins, frequently extending to very near the apex. Croat 6948.