States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaArkansasFloridaLouisianaMississippiVirginiaWest Virginia
Menu

Common Chickweed

Stellaria media

Found in disturbed areas, gardens, fields, bottomlands, moist forests. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

—
Not native

Not native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height
4–20 inches
Spread
4–12 inches
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist
See native alternatives

Plant this instead

Choose your county to list local plants first.

  • Roundleaf Ragwort
    Packera obovata

    Sun: Part shade, Shade. Soil: Usually moist. Flowers: Yellow.

    Similar growth form, height, spread

    Different: flower color

  • Wild Strawberry
    Fragaria virginiana

    Sun: Full sun, Partial shade. Soil: Somewhat dry to moist. Flowers: White.

    Similar growth form, evergreen or deciduous, flower color

  • Star Chickweed
    Stellaria pubera

    Sun: Dappled sunlight, Partial shade. Soil: Usually moist. Flowers: White.

    Similar growth form, height, flower color

Refine these alternatives in the finder

Check a whole list of plants

At a glance

Life cycle
Annual
Leaves
Deciduous or semi-evergreen
Bloom
January to December

Recorded in 18 West Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Moist forests

Woods Scene
Harvey Joiner, Woods Scene: tall beeches in a moist Kentucky woodland, light falling through a closed canopy onto a damp forest floor. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky beech woods (Harvey Joiner, Louisville painter of Kentucky beech forests; the painting does not name the site), a neighboring state.Woods Scene, Harvey Joiner, c. 1880-1920. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 108 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (38)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Stellaria

  • Agnorisma badinodisPale-Banded Dart
  • Agrotis venerabilisVenerable Dart, Dusky Cut-Worm
  • Elaphria grataGrateful Midget
  • Euphyia intermediataSharp-Angled Carpet Moth, The Intermediate
  • Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
  • Haematopis gratariaChickweed Geometer
  • Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
  • Lacinipolia renigeraBristly Ground Cat, Bristly Cutworm Moth, Kidney Spotted "Mamestra"
  • Lobocleta ossulariaDrab Brown Wave
  • Xanthorhoe ferrugataRed Twin-Spot, Twin-Spot Carpet
Show all 14
  • Xestia c-nigrumSpotted Cut-Worm, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Lesser Black-letter Dart
  • Xestia dolosaGreater Black-Letter Dart, Greater Spotted Cutworm
  • Xestia smithiiSmith's Dart
  • Caryocolum cassella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
8BirdsRecorded eating Stellaria in West Virginia

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab)

Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Birds that eat Stellaria 8

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Caryophyllaceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–11b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
White

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

West Virginia rankSNA
Global rankGNR
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Sources