Arenivaga occur across the American Southwest and Mexico, as well as in the scrub and high pine communities of Florida. This study analyzes the relative contribution of 22 abiotic and one biotic variable to the niche of the genus Arenivaga. This analysis revealed that more than 95% of their ecological niche is described by eight variables: soil, isothermality, minimum temperature of the coldest month, mean temperature of the driest quarter, annual precipitation, precipitation of the driest month, precipitation of the wettest quarter and ground cover. These eight variables with respect to their relative contributions to the niche of the genus as a whole as well as the individual niches of 27 species in the genus were then examined. This revealed the similarity of niche composition of most of the species, as well as how varied the niches were of several species. A species dendrogram built from similarity of contribution of the eight variables to niche composition was compared to a phylogeny of the genus, but few similarities in topology were found. This analysis revealed that soil is the most important contributor to these species' niches, followed by precipitation of the driest month, and finally, precipitation of the wettest quarter. It also confirmed that the majority of Arenivaga species have niches comprised of similar, but not identical, proportions of as few as four, and as many as eight ecological variables. Currently there is no evidence to support niche conservatism between closely related species, indicating that adapting to new and variable niches is one of the drivers of speciation in this genus.