Stellaria praecox Stellaria nitens is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names shiny chickweed[1] and shining starwort.

It is native to western North America, including British Columbia, Alberta, and the western United States, its distribution extending into Mexico at least as far as Baja California.

It grows in many types of habitat, in dry and moist areas, and sometimes in disturbed places.

It is an annual herb producing a slender, upright, four-angled stem from a thin taproot, reaching up to about 25 centimeters in height.

The leaves are hairless except for some rough hairs along the margins, and the blades have shiny surfaces.