It is a warm-season lawn grass that is popular for cultivation in tropical and subtropical regions.

It spreads by aboveground stolons, commonly known as "runners", and forms a dense layer.

The grass occurs on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean,[1] including much of the southeastern United States, Texas,[2][3] Mexico, and Central and South America.

[1] It has escaped cultivation in California,[4] Hawaii, many Pacific islands, South Africa and New Zealand.

Only recently has commercially valuable and viable seed for St. Augustine become available, so it has typically been propagated by plugs, sprigs, or sod.