It is native to northern Africa, the Mediterranean region and the Middle East where it grows on arid sandy plains, saline areas and in semi-arid habitats.

It was first described as Aizoon hispanicum by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1753 and was in 2002 placed in the genus Aizoanthemum by the German botanist Heidrun Hartmann.

[1] A. hispanicum is a sprawling annual herbaceous plant 5 to 20 cm (2 to 8 in) high with opposite, papillose, succulent leaves.

Near the centre of the capsule, the covering membranes are arranged in such a way that they form a nozzle, and when further rain drops fall on the capsule, a jet of water and seeds is propelled through this nozzle; this allows the plant to scatter its seeds much more widely than is the case in related species that lack this mechanism.

[3] A. hispanicum is native to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Cyprus, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and the Arabian Peninsula where it grows in compacted sandy soil in desert plains, saline areas and semi-arid regions.