Less common in Northland, inland Taranaki, western Waikato, King Country and the West Coast.

May also be found among grass and in open pasture, under pine and macrocarpa trees, and in disturbed forest remnants.

[3][7] In Tasmania, it occurs in rainforest, usually on the heavily shaded margins of waterways and vertical banks.

[3] A global phylogeny of Asplenium published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades,[8] which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study.

A. hookerianum belongs to the "Neottopteris clade", members of which generally have somewhat leathery leaf tissue.

Intensive farming, forestry, and cliff-based recreational activities such as abseiling and rock climbing may have some impact.

[5] Asplenium hookerianum is easily grown and makes a good pot plant, though it is slow growing.