It is native to Eurasia and naturalized throughout the world, where it is a weed of waste ground, farmland and gardens.

Chickweed is a hardy annual which flowers throughout the year in northern Europe, in mild weather.

These sepals have long, wavy (villous) hairs on their outer (distal) sides and are oval in shape, and usually 5 in number.

The anthraquinones emodin, parietin (physcion) and questin, the flavonoid kaempferol-3,7-O-α-L-dirhamnoside, the phytosterols β-sitosterol and daucosterol, and the fatty alcohol 1-hexacosanol can be found in S.

[2] The name Stellaria media was published by Domínique Villars in Histoire des plantes du Dauphiné in 1789.

[15] The name Stellaria is derived from the word 'stella' meaning 'star',[16] which is a reference to the shape of its flowers; media is Latin for 'between', 'intermediate', or 'mid-sized'.

Stellaria media is widespread in Asia, Europe, North America, and other parts of the world.

Stellaria media is common in lawns, meadows, waste places, and open areas.

[20] The larvae of the following species of Lepidoptera feed on chickweed: chickweed geometer (Haematopis grataria), yellow shell (Camptogramma bilineata), pale-banded dart (Agnorisma badinodis), dusky cutworm (Agrotis venerabilis) and dainty sulphur (Nathalis iole).