Stems erect. Leaves arching at tip, planar, 4--8 dm. Pinnae narrowly lanceolate, straight to falcate, in same plane as blade, more than 5 times longer than wide, apex acuminate-apiculate. Indusia entire or margin short-dentate. On floor of mixed evergreen forests in light shade; 400--1400 m; Calif. Polystichum imbricans var. curtum occurs mostly inland in California, and occasionally in the central Sierra Nevada.