English: Thousand-leaved fern.
Clades: Dennstaedtiaceae.
Region: New Zealand.
Habitat: coastal to alpine; grassland, rock strewn slopes; into scrub and forest; in restiad peat bogs; tussock grassland and open Dracophyllum scrub.

BotanyFern; common.
Root: rhizome, subterranean, long-creeping, ± 2 mm diameter, glabrous or bearing scattered pale brown hairs.
Leaves: rhombic, ovate or broadly ovate; 15 to 40 to 70 cm long, 8 to 25 cm wide; membranous to slightly coriaceous; tripinnate, bipinnate in small ferns, quadripinnate at apex or sometimes 5-pinnate at base; rachis pale brown to yellowish green, bearing pale brown or colourless eglandular hairs, ± 1 mm long; primary pinnae in 20 to 25 pairs, the lowest arising at 30-50° to stem, upper ones at 70-90°, opposite below, subopposite or alternate above, the longest below, middle 7 to 26 long, 3 to 13 cm wide; lowest ones 3 to 13 cm apart, middle ones 1 to 5 cm apart; upper ones narrowly ovate, lower ones ovate, midrib narrowly winged towards apices; secondary pinnae narrowly ovate to ovate, midribs broadly winged, 2 to 8 cm long, 1 to 4 cm wide, those on the lower pinnae decreasing in length along the pinnae; tertiary pinnae 0.5 to 2 cm by 3 to 10 mm, 2 to 6 deep serrations per pinnule; quaternary pinnae 0.1 to 0.5 by 0.1 to 0.4 mm, sometimes deeply divided; hairs glistening, colourless, scattered along midribs of pinnae and pinnules, on both surfaces, up to 1 mm long.; veins reaching margin at tooth apex; sstipes arising at intervals of 1 to 13 cm; 5 to 35 cm long, 1 to 3 mm diameter, red-brown below, pale brown above, a few pale or reddish brown hairs along stipe.
Sori: one on each ultimate segment; often absent from lowest two pairs of pinnae; originating away from margin; unprotected at maturity or partially covered by a green reflexed marginal flap. Spores: pale brown, echinate.

BotanyLeaves: broad; finely dissected; bright green; with numerous bristly hair; deciduous.