Plants ca. 45 cm tall. Rhizome not seen. Stipe dark brown at base, distally stramineous, 24-27 cm, with triangular-lanceolate scales, rounded abaxially, nearly smooth or with short hairs, grooved and with acicular hairs adaxially; lamina pinnate-pinnatifid, oblong, 18-20 × 10-14 cm, base not decurrent, apex acuminate and pinnatifid; pinnae 13-15 pairs, proximal 2 or 3 pairs free, spreading or slightly obliquely spreading, 5-7 × ca. 2 cm (basal one pair slightly shortened), oblong-lanceolate, slightly tapering to bases, ± adnate to rachis, pinnatifid; segments oblong, entire along margins (or occasionally undulate-crenate on long segments), sparsely ciliate, rounded-obtuse at apices; pinnae above middle gradually shortened, linear-lanceolate, bases decurrent and connected to each other along rachis by narrow wings. Veins pinnate, lateral veins forked or simple and reaching margins. Fronds herbaceous, drying deep green, rachises raised abaxially, adaxially with grooves with dense acicular hairs, rachises and costae with acicular hairs on both sides and mixed with a few forked hairs, with sparse brownish narrowly lanceolate scales abaxially, scales sparsely long ciliate along margins, subglabrous between veins on both surfaces. Sori orbicular or nearly so, borne subterminally on ultimate veins and close to margins, exindusiate. Sporangia each occasionally with 1 or 2 hairs near annulus.

Phegopteris tibetica is most similar to P. connectilis, but the laminar length is 2 times the width, proximal 2 or 3 pairs of pinnae usually not connected at bases by a rachis wing, basal pair of pinnae slightly shortened, and laminae glabrous between veins on both surfaces.

● Abies forests; ca. 3600 m. Xizang (Bomi).