Each dark green, shiny leaf is made up of several pairs of leaflets, the largest of which is about 5 × 2 cm.

[2] This fern grows in the moist riparian forests on the slopes of two mountains on Maui, one of which is the volcano Haleakalā.

The forest in the area has a mostly open canopy and is dominated by ʻōlapa (Cheirodendron trigynum) and ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha).

Other plants of the understory include Ākala (Rubus hawaiensis), Kanawao (Broussaisia arguta) and Coprosma species.

[2] Threats to this rare fern include habitat destruction and degradation due to the action of feral pigs, flash flooding, and invasive plant species such as Australian blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon), sticky snakeroot (Ageratina adenophora), sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), fringed willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum), velvet grass (Holcus lanatus), and cat's ear (Hypochoeris radicata).