It grows among grasses, often among rocky outcrops. Earlier suggestions that C. sieberi was a habitat form of C. austrotenuifolia have been disproved by research in the 1980s. The third Cheilanthes species is C. distans , or Bristly Cloak Fern. It is superficially similar to small specimens of C. sieberi , but clearly distinguished by the often thick scales and hairs on the under side of its fronds. The amount of scales and hairs under the fronds varies considerably, and may reflect hybridisation with C. sieberi .
Some specimens show sparse white hairs on the upper surface of the pinnae.
C. distans often grows among rocks in very frost-prone areas, where its hairs and scales presumably confer competitive advantage. It resembles superficially a specimen of Woodwardia distans I saw next to a fjord in Norway, years ago, growing in a similar habitat. It is possible that Cheilanthes lasiophylla also grows in the Canberra region, but this remains to be confirmed.