The slender, hairless fronds of Schizaea pectinata are erect up to their horizontally bent tips, each subtending a fan-like or comb-like row of erect brown parts.
The sporangia of this fern are found on the inner surfaces of these brown "slices", the flat little slab structures that start off yellowish green, borne closely together.
The Schizaea genus comprises about 30 species. S. tenella also found in the fynbos, grows near streams and has fewer divisions in its "combs" (Privett and Lutzeyer, 2010; Bean and Johns, 2005; Manning and Goldblatt, 1996; iNaturalist; iSpot).