Trophophore stalk 0--5 mm, to 1/6 length of trophophore rachis; blade dull, ± glaucescent green, oblong, 1--3-pinnate, to 10 × 9 cm, firm. Pinnae to 7 pairs, somewhat ascending, approximate to slightly remote, distance between 1st and 2d pinnae not or slightly more than between 2d and 3d pairs, basal pinna pair approximately equal in size and cutting to adjacent pairs, spatulate-ovate to narrowly ovate, divided to tip, ultimate segments squarish to linear, rounded to square to acute at apex, margins entire to lobed to fully dissected, apex rounded to acute, venation pinnate. Sporophores 1--3-pinnate, 1.3--2.4 times length of trophophore. 2 n =180. Leaves appearing in spring, dying in late summer. Old fields, secondary growth woods; 0--1200 m; St. Pierre and Miquelon; N.B., Nfld., N.S., Ont., Que.; Conn., Del., D.C., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., R.I., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.; Europe.