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Locally common on seasonally flooded ground on lake margin. Growing in peaty sand with Apodasmia similis, Ophioglossum coriaceum and various mosses and liverworts.

A problematic population. Some plants corresponding to Ophioglossum coriaceum and others intermediate between that species and O. petiolatum. I am (for now) placing the larger plants into O. petiolatum (I have seen similar plants accepted as this from Raoul Island, and Te Paki by New Zealand Pteridologists). I suspect, that for many populations ascribed to O. petiolatum in reality we are dealing with hybrid swarms between something like O. petiolatum and O. coriaceum - we have some evidence to support this from cytological studies which found that of 8 New Zealand populations attributed to O. petiolatum, only one was functional, all the others produced sterile spores. Notably most grew close to O. coriaceum - as at this site.

Placement in O. petiolatum (for now) for most of the plants seen here is based on the size of the fertile spike which ranged between 14 and 20 sporangia pairs. However, the sterile blade is more typical of O. coriaceum. See also https://inaturalist.nz/observations/199256092 for an observation of the same population made on 14 February 2024.