Native to Central and South America but like G. parviflora now a nearly cosmopolitan weed of temperate and subtropical areas. Thrives in populated areas: poorly kept lawns; along hedges, sidewalks, and gardens; roadsides and parks; and in greenhouses. First collected in Michigan in Ingham Co. (1892), but soon (1901) found in Detroit, Wayne Co.; widespread across southern Michigan and even in Gogebic Co. before 1920.