Plants up to 2 m tall. Rhizome prostrate, firm, ca. 1 cm in diam., woody. Stipe castaneous-brown at base, opaque, ca. 100 cm × 4 mm, firm, glabrous; lamina 2-pinnatipartite on either side, oblong-ovate; pinnae alternate, decumbent, sessile, basal pairs ca. 11 cm apart, falcate, narrowly triangular, ca. 40 × 15 cm, base oblique, apex long caudate; pinnae entire on acroscopic margin and apical 1/4-1/3 of basiscopic margin, deeply lobed on rest of basiscopic margin, with 6-8 gradually shorter segments; segments linear-lanceolate, basal ones ca. 13 × 1.8 cm, up to 2 cm apart, base oblique, sterile margins serrate, apex acuminate; veins distinct on both surfaces, spreading, sparse, 1- or 2-forked; lamina pale green, herbaceous when dried, glabrous; costae and rachises straw-colored, grooved on adaxial side, with few spines on raised edges.

Pteris malipoensis is represented by larger plants, is rare, and is similar to P. semipinnata, but the former has stipes robust, straw-colored, basal pinnae up to 40 cm, segments at base ca. 13 × 1.8 cm, pale green when dried.

● Mixed forests; 1200-1500 m. Hunan (Tongdao), SE Yunnan (Malipo).