It has been widely introduced to areas outside its native range, including to the neotropics, Hawaii, the West Indies and to both coasts of North America.

It has a long flowering period, from spring to fall in subtropical areas, and throughout the year closer to the equator.

Additional agricultural damage is caused by the fact that it can host the nematode Meloidogyne incognita and the Groundnut rosette virus.

[10] In China it is used as a medicinal herb that is said to have diuretic, febrifugal and anti-inflammatory effects, while in Pakistan it is used to cure swellings of the skin, leprosy and as a laxative.

Commelina benghalensis is a wide-ranging plant, being native to tropical and subtropical Asia and Africa, an area otherwise known as the paleotropics.

[12] Although its roots and tubers are used as a food source, C. benghalensis is not cultivated in Ethiopia, where it grows as a weed.

[13] The plant has also been widely introduced beyond its range to the neotropics[14] - the southeastern United States, California, Hawaii, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Montserrat, Barbados and St Vincent.

[17] It was added to the Federal Noxious Weed List in 1983,[16] and by 2003 was considered the most serious pest of Georgia's cotton crop due to widely used herbicides such as glyphosate having little effect on it.

[14][16] It is associated with disturbed soils such as yards, lawns and cultivated areas, especially in cotton crops and orange groves.

[7] In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located closer to the equator, it is a perennial, flowering around the year.