Cyathea doctersii is a species of tree fern endemic to Sumatra, where it grows in forest at an altitude of approximately 150 m. The trunk is erect and 2-3 m tall. Fronds are bi- or tripinnate and 2-3 m long. The stipe is covered with scattered flat, brown scales and some hairs. Sori occur near the fertile pinnule midvein and are covered by thin, brown indusia that are scale-like in appearance. The specific epithet doctersii commemorates botanist Willem Marius Docters van Leeuwen (1880-1960), who collected numerous plant species in Asia.