It is native to western-northern Mexico, the region of the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera.

Purshia stansburyana, native to the southwestern United States, has sometimes been included within P.

[3] The range of Mexican cliffrose is from the western Mexican Plateau in the south, and the southern Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera north to a small region of northwest Sonora;[2] it has a continuous range in the cordillera from Chihuahua south through Durango and Zacatecas, all mostly north of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, though a few scattered locales do occur in the belt.

[2] The plant is browsed by deer, cattle, and sheep, and is particularly important to these species during the winter.

[4] Native Americans made ropes and clothing from the bark, and fashioned arrow shafts from the stems.