Pteris plumbea var. sintenensis Masamune.

Plants 25-35 cm tall. Rhizome erect or slightly oblique, apex with black or brown scales. Fronds clustered, submonomorphic; stipe castaneous, 4-angled, 10-20 cm × 1-2 mm; rachis similar (sometimes straw-colored when young), margin sometimes straw-colored, shiny, glabrous; lamina (mature) monomorphic, 1-pinnate, oblong or ovate-oblong in outline, 20-25 × 10-15 cm; pinnae often 2 pairs, opposite, decumbent; basal pinnae often with 2 or 3 pinnules; lateral pinnules much shorter, uppermost one often adnate to apical pinna, base ± decrescent; upper lateral pinnae usually simple, sessile, base not decurrent, margins cartilaginous, sterile parts serrate, fertile parts entire; terminal pinna linear-lanceolate, 10-15 × 0.8-1 cm, base broadly cuneate, slightly oblique, apex acuminate; lamina gray-green or adaxially brown, herbaceous when dried, glabrous; midvein biconvex, veins conspicuous, simple or forked.

Limestone crevices within open forests; 200-700 m. Fujian (Xianxialing), Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou (Dushan, Libo, Wanshan), S Hunan (Yizhang), SW Jiangsu (Jiangning), W Jiangxi (Pingxiang), Taiwan, Zhejiang (Jinhua, Leqing) [Cambodia, India (Assam), Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Philippines, Thailand, N Vietnam].