Plants 10-15 cm tall. Rhizomes short, erect, scaly; scales light brown, lanceolate, ca. 3 mm, membranous, margin entire. Fronds clustered; stipe stramineous, 3-5 cm, articulate at lower part, scaly at base, upward sparsely scaly; scales narrowly lanceolate; lamina 1-pinnate-pinnatifid to 2-pinnate, lanceolate, 7-10 × 1.5-2.9 cm, thinly herbaceous, abaxially with few brown articulate hairs, adaxially glabrous, base attenuate, apex acuminate; rachis, costae, and leaf margin also with few similar hairs; pinnae 8-10 pairs, ca. 1 cm apart, shortly stalked, slightly oblique; lower pinnae shorter than above; middle pinnae largest, ovate-rhombic, 1-1.5 cm × 7-10 mm, base broadly cuneate, margin pinnatifid or pinnate, with 2 or 3 pairs of pinnules, apex acute; pinnules obovate, basal pair largest, ca. 7 mm, serrate or crenate. Veins pinnate, distinct. Sori suborbicular, usually terminal at ends of veinlets, 2-4 per segment; indusia saucer-shaped, with long-villous margin.

● On rocks in forests; 2000-2900 m. Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, E Sichuan.