Abstract Biotic interactions are highly affected by species traits and micro‐environmental variability. Research on facilitation has primarily focused on how nurse species alleviate abiotic stress for beneficiary species, while the impact of the micro‐environmental variability generated by nurse plants in shaping facilitation outcomes is poorly understood. This study has two objectives: (i) To evaluate which traits define beneficiary species and (ii) to evaluate whether nurse and non‐nurse species differ in their ability to reduce abiotic stress and its variability under their canopy. We sampled recruits in two arid and stressful environments to assess (i) which species accumulate more juveniles beneath their canopy controlling for their coverage (nurse vs. non‐nurse species) and (ii) which species benefited from facilitation by determining whether they tend to recruit more beneath other species or on the bare ground (beneficiary/non‐beneficiary). First, we compared how nurse and non‐nurse species modify the physical and chemical microenvironments underneath their canopy, both in terms of magnitude and variation. Second, we compared root growth, water retention and nutrient accumulation in juvenile plants of beneficiary and non‐beneficiary species. We found that facilitation is enhanced by species that provide a more homogeneous microenvironment rather than an intense reduction of microenvironmental stress under their canopy. In addition, the juveniles of beneficiary species invest more in root development, accumulate Ca and S in their shoot tissues, and show a higher water content than non‐beneficiary species. Our findings indicate that the homogeneity of microenvironments plays a crucial role in facilitative interactions, and the juveniles of beneficiary species show a less conservative strategy, investing more in resource acquisition than juveniles of non‐beneficiary species. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.