Polypodium falcatum Linnaeus f., Suppl. Pl. 446. 1781; Aspidium falcatum (Linnaeus f.) Swartz; Cyrtomium yiangshanense Ching & Y. C. Lang; Dryopteris falcata (Linnaeus f.) O. Kuntze; Phanerophlebia falcata (Linnaeus f.) Copeland; Polystichum falcatum (Linnaeus f.) Diels (1899), not Fée (1850).

Plants 30-40 cm tall. Rhizome erect, densely covered with lanceolate brown scales. Stipe stramineous, 15-27 cm, 3-4 mm in diam. at base, lower portion densely scaly; scales pale brown, sometimes blackish brown at middle, ovate, lower portion fimbriate. Lamina broadly lanceolate, 22-35 × 12-15 cm, base contracted, 1-imparipinnate, apex acute; rachis with lanceolate brown dentate scales or glabrous. Lateral pinnae 5-14 pairs, alternate, spreading or ascendant, shortly stalked, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, often curved acroscopically; middle pinnae 6-10 × 2.5-3 cm, base obliquely rounded-cuneate, margins entire or repand, sometimes dentate, apex long acuminate or caudate; terminal pinna ovate-lanceolate, forked or trifurcate, 4.5-8 × 2-4 cm; leathery, glabrous on both surfaces; venation pinnate, slightly raised abaxially, indistinct adaxially, veinlets anastomosing to form 3 or 4 rows of areoles. Sori throughout abaxial surface of pinnae; indusia margins slightly incised. 2n = 82.

Three cytotypes of Cyrtomium falcatum have been identified: sexual diploid, apomictic triploid, and sexual tetraploid. Based on the cytological evidence and geographical distribution, Matsumoto (Ann. Tsukuba Bot. Gard. 22: 70. 2003) divided this species into three subspecies: "subsp. falcatum," "subsp. littorale," and "subsp. australe."

Coastal and lowland forests; sea level to 500 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shandong, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Indochina, Japan, Korea; Pacific islands (Polynesia); introduced and locally naturalized in Europe, Hawaii, North America, Réunion, South Africa].