It bears linear to lanceolate scales 7 to 10 millimeters (0.3 to 0.4 in) long,[2] thin in texture[3] and of a uniform orange-brown[2] or chestnut-brown color[3] with entire (toothless) margins.

[4] The leaf blades are deltate (triangular) in shape, highly divided (from four to six successive subdivisions) at the base,[5][2] sometimes broader than they are long.

[2][3] The ultimate segments are ovate to lanceolate[4] or oblong,[6] obtuse at the tip and broadly cuneate (wedge-shaped) at the base,[6] and sometimes have an crenate (round-toothed) margin.

[4] The dark color of the axes passes into the segment base, without a distinct joint,[5][2] and pinnae and subsequent subdivisions are borne on long stalks.

[5] The species was first described by Gustav Kunze in 1851 as Notholaena fendleri, based on material collected in New Mexico by Augustus Fendler, for whom it is named.

[8] Delineating natural genera in the cheilanthoids has proven to be extremely difficult, and other placements of the species were subsequently put forward.

[16] In 2018, Maarten J. M. Christenhusz transferred the species to Hemionitis as H. engywookii (the epithet fendleri was preoccupied), as part of a program to consolidate the cheilanthoid ferns into that genus.

[7] It grows on rocky cliffs and slopes, particularly on granitic and igneous rocks, the only member of the genus to prefer this substrate.

[1] The horticulturist George Schneider considered it suitable for conservation, noting that it "thrives well under cool treatment",[20] perhaps in contrast to tropical ferns.