Common chickweed  (Stellaria media)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Range

Widespread and common throughout Britain, common chickweed is a cosmopolitan species (2); it has become naturalised in North America, and is now found around the world (3).

You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway.

Habitat

Found in a wide variety of disturbed habitats, particularly in nutrient-rich areas (3). It is a notorious weed of gardens and cultivated areas, and may also occur on walls, new plantations, sewage works and manure heaps, and is a typical feature of coastal strand-lines (3). It has been found in pre-Neolithic deposits, and so it is not dependent on human disturbance for survival (1).

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