An uncommon, very hairy variety. Fronds densely hairy. Stipes, rachises, costae, and entire fronds covered with uniform, jointed hairs with pointed tips. Rachises often some-what zigzag. Ultimate segments strongly hairy on both surfaces.
Found in mesic to wet forests, 425-1,830 m, Maui and Hawai 'i. A continuum of all degrees of hairiness is found in M. strigosa, ranging from nearly glabrous to, at the hairy extreme, var. mauiensis.
Microlepia strigosa var. mauiensis may be distinguished from var. strigosa by its extreme hairiness and zigzag rachises.