The living paratype descendant (cult. E. Leme 6701) is cultivated in the collection of the Refúgio dos Gravatás, in Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro. Cryptanthus capitellatus was found growing as a terrestrial species in shaded sites of semideciduous Atlantic Forest. The individuals grow scattered on the forest floor, forming a sparsely distributed population in the county of Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo State.
The population where the holotype was collected is characterized by more delicate individuais with leaf blades partially entire, while the paratype population contains more robust and spiny individuais, despite the floral details are identical. —SeePereira 1971
