Carmichaelia petriei was first described by Thomas Kirk in his book The students' flora of New Zealand and the outlying islands published in 1899.

[7] This species grows in scrub and tussock grassland among rocks in montane, lowland or coastal sites.

[7] One of only four specimens of the critically endangered fungus weevil Cerius otagensis was collected from the beating of a C. petriei plant.

That this weevil was collected from C. petriei implies that this species of Carmichaelia may be a host plant for that endangered insect.

[8] Carmichaelia petriei had a large stable population and was therefore classified by the Department of Conservation (DOC) as being "Not Threatened" in 2013.