[3][4][5] It tends to grow upright at first, reaching heights of 10–150 centimetres (4–59 in), rarely to 3 m); it then typically becomes recumbent after flowering (due to the weight of the foliage and seeds) unless supported by other plants.

[7] Poisonous black nightshade looks similar to this species when young, but the leaves of C. album have a white mealy texture and its axils have a red streak.

The following varieties are accepted by Plants of the World Online:[2] Its native range is obscure due to extensive cultivation,[9] but includes most of Europe,[10] from where Carl Linnaeus described the species in 1753.

[6] According to Plants of the World Online, the species' natural distribution includes temperate Eurasia from western Europe to China and the Russian Far East, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa, Ethiopia, and the eastern and central United States.

[2] It is widely naturalized elsewhere, such as in Africa,[12] Australasia,[13] North America,[5] and Oceania,[4] and now occurs almost everywhere (except Antarctica)[1] in soils rich in nitrogen, especially on wasteland.

[citation needed] The species are cultivated as a grain or vegetable crop (such as in lieu of spinach), as well as animal feed in Asia[14][15] and Africa, whereas in Europe and North America, it is commonly regarded as a weed in places such as potato fields,[16] while in Australia it is naturalised in all states and regarded as an environmental weed in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

[30] The leaves and young shoots of this plant are used in dishes such as soups, curries, and paratha-stuffed breads, common in North India.

The seeds or grains are used in phambra, gruel-type dishes in Himachal Pradesh, and in mildly alcoholic fermented beverages such as soora and ghanti.

A fermented dish known as masaura is also made by dipping the leaves in a lentil batter with spices and then dried in sun for some days.

[citation needed] The juice of this plant is a potent ingredient for a mixture of wall plaster, according to the Samarāṅgaṇa Sūtradhāra, which is a Sanskrit treatise dealing with Śilpaśāstra (Hindu science of art and construction).