Leaves and stems:

Leaf is up to 40 inches long and to 8 inches wide, generally lance-oblong in outline, twice compound though the lowest pair of branches at the base of the frond are again compound. Leaves are evergreen.

Leaflets are lobed, sometimes divided almost to mid-nerve, and toothed, the teeth with a bristle-like tip. Veins are forked. On the first branch at the base of the leaf, the leaflet on the lower-side of the branch closest to the stem is usually shorter than the next leaflet (see image enlargement).

The stem is grooved with light brown scales near base while the upper portion of the stem has short glandular hairs, visible with a good hand lens. Glands are also present on the leaflet midribs.

Spores:

Spores are produced in early to mid summer. The sori (group of spores) are found on the underside of the leaf. They are circular and arranged mostly in a row on each side of the mid-vein on a leaflet lobe.There is a translucent tissue (indusium) that partly covers the spores, is attached on inner curve and has glandular hairs.

Notes:

Dryopteris species can be identified by the circular shaped sori that is covered by a translucent tissue. Dryopteris intermedia is most similar to D. carthusiana. The difference is that the first branch on D. carthusiana, the leaflet closest to the stem on the lower side of the branch is longer than the next leaflet, whereas the first branch on D. intermedia, the first leaflet is shorter than the next one.