Etymology Tomentosa means densely wooly.

Description Rhizome: short-creeping, scales brown, sometimes with a black center, linear.
Frond: 45 cm high by 8 cm wide, deciduous, monomorphic, blade/stipe ratio: 1:2 to 1:1.
Stipe: dark brown, rounded above, the color extending into the rachis and costae, tan hairs and linear scales, vascular bundles: 1.
Blade: 2-pinnate-pinnatifid at the base; most books describe it as more divided, but no available illustrations support it, oblong-lanceolate, noncircinate vernation, wooly, densely hairy below, a mat of white, gray or brown hairs, and white, curly hairs above.
Pinnae: 15 to 20 pair, usually equilateral; costae brown at base, becoming green, scales below inconspicuous; segments oblong, convex; margins inrolled; veins free, obscure.
Sori: linear ± continuous around segment margins, submarginal, indusium: false, sporangia: black, maturity: summer to fall.

Culture Habitat: rocky slopes and ledges. Distribution: northern Mexico across southern United States to West Virginia. Hardy to -20°C, USDA Zone 6.

Distinctive Characteristics Closest to C. gracillima, but more divided and hairier on the upper blade surface.

Synonyms
Myriopteris tomentosa (Link) J. Smith