The stems, which are sometimes tinged purple, spread out along the ground without rooting at the nodes, and lengthen to about 10 cm long.

[2][4] The fruits are formed a week or two after flowering and consist of an oval green capsule about 3 mm long, which remains surrounded by the sepals.

[8] In 1828, Du Mortier, describing a form found in Belgium, applied the name Alsine pallida, which Piré (1863) transferred to the genus Stellaria.

[4] The name Stellaria is from the Latin "stella", for a star, and describes the appearance of the flowers of plants in this genus (not so much this particular species).

The prefix "a-" derives from the Ancient Greek, and means "without" or "lacking" and therefore refers to the absence of petals in most specimens.

The synonym pallida comes from the Latin pallens, pallidus = pale, and is most likely a reference to the yellowish colour of the foliage.

[4][1][3] Stellaria apetala has a widespread, though local, distribution across Europe, from southern Spain and the Mediterranean islands to Lapland, and from the British Isles to Ukraine.

Away from the sea it occurs in sandy areas and is found on woodland rides, waste ground and eroded hillsides.

In Europe it is often found growing under the shade of Scots Pine in woodland on light glacial sands,[9] whereas in Britain it often occurs in the distinctive U1 Rumex acetosella grassland, where it is sometimes considered an axiophyte of species-rich habitat.

[20] Its Ellenberg values in Britain are L = 7, F = 4, R = 4, N = 4, and S = 0, which signifies a brightly lit situation with dry, somewhat acidic soil, low fertility and no salt.