This medium-sized fern has attractive leaves. It can be distinguished from other ferns by its winged rachis; this winged extension is strongly angular and connects all of the leaflets. The leaves of this fern are unusual in that they are about as broad at the base as they are long; other ferns usually have leaves that are longer than they are wide. The other fern species in this genus that occurs in Illinois, Phegopteris connectilis (Long Beech Fern), has leaves that are longer than they are wide, and the winged extension of its rachis doesn't extend to the lowest 1-2 pairs of leaflets. Like the more common Beech Fern, the sori of the Long Beech Fern lack indusia; this characteristic distinguishes them from closely related ferns in the Thelypteris genus (as well as many other ferns). Two scientific synonyms of the Beech Fern are Thelypteris hexagonoptera and Dryopteris hexagonoptera. Another common name of this species is the 'Broad Beech Fern.'