Native records: 3 botanical areas
Mexico Northeast, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Southwest
See all areasNatural distribution
Explore mapNativeIntroducedUncertain
Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.
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Distribution last verified:
A succulent plant in the stonecrop family native to northeastern Mexico, forming tight rosettes of pale green, spoon-shaped leaves that give it its 'snowball' common name.
Description
An evergreen succulent perennial native to semi-desert regions of Mexico. Forms beautiful rosettes approximately 10cm wide of fleshy, spoon-shaped leaves. Leaf color is pale green to whitish-green, often with a powdery white coating (bloom). Produces one-sided racemes of lantern-shaped pink flowers from spring to summer. Produces numerous offsets around the mother plant, forming dense clumps.
Habitat
Native to semi-arid regions and subtropical biomes of northeastern Mexico (extending to Veracruz). Grows on sunny rocky slopes and outcrops.
Distribution areas
Mexico
- Mexico GulfNative
- Mexico NortheastNative
- Mexico SouthwestNative
Climate of the native range
The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.
- Aw Tropical, savannah
- Am Tropical, monsoon
- BSh Arid, steppe, hot
- Cwb Temperate, dry winter, warm summer
- BSk Arid, steppe, cold
- BWh Arid, desert, hot
- Cwa Temperate, dry winter, hot summer
The same climate occurs in 149 areas worldwide, 146 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map
A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).
Other names
Mexican snowball、Mexican gem、Mexican hens and chicks、White Mexican rose
- Family
- Crassulaceae
- Genus
- Echeveria
Other species in Echeveria
Sources
World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Mexico · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open source
Image information
Photograph of Echeveria elegans
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 3.0 · File page