Greek nothos, false, + Peranema, a fern genus, similar to but not a true Peranema.
Plants medium-sized, terrestrial. Rhizomes decumbent to erect, scaly. Fronds medium-sized, usually close. Stipes close, grooved, straw-colored to medium brown, covered with long, narrow scales and hairlike scales, cross section revealing a semicircle of small, round vascular bundles. Blades 3- to 4-pinnate, subcoriaceous, covered with hairlike scales 2 to several cells wide at bases, similar to but smaller than those on stipes, adaxial surfaces bearing conical, rigid, articulate, tapewormlike hairs composed of square cells; rachises deeply grooved, grooves connecting with those of pinna costae, bearing scales similar to but smaller than those on stipes. Veins free, simple or forked.
A genus of about six species ranging from Africa, India, China, and Taiwan to Japan and Hawai 'i. Represented in Hawai 'i by a single endemic species.
