Deer fern fronds arise in clumps, are once-pinnate, and dimorphic&emdash;the sterile fronds are evergreen and leathery, spreading to horizontal, with wide pinnae; the fertile fronds are deciduous, vertical and 40-80 cm tall, with narrower pinnae. The sori are distributed along the leaf margin in a continuous band and protected by the inrolled leaf margin with no true indusium present. Deer fern is common in moist to wet forests in low to middle elevations, but occasionally found at high elevations.