Diplazium molokaiense, a short-lived perennial member of the Athyriaceae (ladyfern) family, has a short prostrate rhizome. The leaf stalks are 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) long and green or straw-colored. The frond is thin textured, ovate-oblong, 15 to 50 cm (6 to 20 in) long and 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) wide, truncate at the base, and pinnate with a pinnatifid (deeply lobed) tip. The sori are 0.8 to 1.3 cm (0.3 to 0.5 in) long and lie alongside the side veins of the pinnae.