The genus name Cardiomanes also arises from reference to the distinctive frond shape: Greek kardia (heart) and manos (thin).

[4] This preference for moist forest is likely the cause of its absence from most of the eastern side of the South Island; however, its ability to curl up is what gives it a tolerance to a wide range of habitats.

[7] Hymenophyllum nephrophyllum inhabits the forest floor where it will often form extensive mats, as well as on banks, rocks, fallen trees and as an epiphyte on lower trunks and branches.

Stalks carrying sori, with sporangia that develop sequentially from base to apex, grow out of the indusia until at plant maturity they emerge and release their spores.

[5] Little else grows in mats of Hymenophyllum nephrophyllum as the rhizomes produce a compound inhibiting the root growth of seedlings of other species.

[9] As Hymenophyllum neprhophyllum mainly inhabits moist forests, it requires a relatively damp soil; however, the kidney fern is poikilohydric[10] and has adapted to a variety of habitats.

[7] Due to the specific climatic and soil conditions that ferns require human based threats to their survival include habitat loss through forest clearance and introduced invasive plants.

[12] Hymenophyllum nephrophyllum has several traditional uses to Māori including being a treatment for bowel disorders (however this is disputed), a perfume plant and also worn during mourning.