It is native to much of the west of the United States, Mexico and Central and South America.

It is a plant of moist areas in a great number of habitats, from coast to desert to mountain and low to high elevation.

The leaves grow from the base of the stem and can exceed 20 centimeters in length.

Each individual flower has thick tepals with longitudinal stripes which vary in color from bright to dark.

mexicanus is native to the western and south-central United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington), much of Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala in Central America, and western South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru).