This plant only lives on the peaks of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada National Park outside of Granada, Spain. The plants live near small streams and lakes that fill up with water from the snow melting after winter. These plants can only survive in the high-altitude atmosphere of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Las Estrellas de las Nieves use the high-altitude of the mountains in the Sierra Nevada to survive. Water flows down from snow melting on the peaks of the mountains and then form streams and lakes. This water freezes on top of the star-shaped plants and provides them with the constant water source that ensures their survival.
The greatest risk to this plant's survival is increasing global temperatures. Guides in the Sierra Nevada National Park are worried about the harm rising temperatures will likely do to the plants because if the temperatures rise too high, the water from the melted snow may not be able stay frozen; and without a snow-covered top, the plants will die within a year and before the next winter.
