This species is widespread within the north of the Hajar Mountains, south to the Al Munay'i area (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium; S. Gairola pers. comm. 2019), in addition to the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). Globally, this species ranges from the Canary Islands to the Mediterranean basin, northeast tropical Africa and east to Pakistan and Transcaucasus (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE this species is widespread within the northern Hajar Mountain range and in the southern part of the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003). This plant has been recorded from elevations up to 1600 m in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). Globally, the native range of this species spans from Spain, across northern Africa and on to the Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

The species is common and widespread in the Hajar Mountains and the Ru'us al-Jibal (MEW 2010) in the UAE. In the Ru'us al-Jibal, the species occurs to at least 1,500 m elevation (Feulner 2011). The species is present in Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2016) and in the 'Olive Highlands' in the southern parts of the Hajar Mountains in the UAE (Feulner 2014). The global range of this species is uncertain as it has been widely introduced and naturalised; it appears to to have a circum-Mediterranean native distribution, extending as a native to parts of western, central and eastern Europe (Marhold 2011), but considered an archeophytic introduction in the UK (BSBI/BRC 2017) and some other countries, and through the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). Introduced to South and East Asia, southern Africa, and the Americas.

In the UAE, the species is known from north of Masafi (A.R. Western and F. Karim; Jongbloed et al. 2003) on gravel plains in the Hajar Mountains (MEW 2010) and the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). The species has not been recorded for Wadi Wurayah National Park, but could easily be missed in surveys (Feulner 2016) and may occur there. In the Ru'us al-Jibal, the species is known from two localities, both within Omani territory, one being bedrock slopes at c.900 m above Wadi Sha'am, very close to the UAE border, and the other being the spring at 'Ayn as-Sih (470 m) in Wadi al-Ayn (Feulner 2011). The species has an almost circum-Mediterranean distribution (Marhold 2011), extending eastwards through the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman; Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

The species was originally described for the UAE from Wadi Wurayah National Park (WWNP; Shahid and Rao 2015). However, Feulner (2016) later revised the identification of his records to K. elatine, and comments that ""Four of the very few UAE records [of K. elatine] are from WWNP.""; the location of records outside WWNP is not known. The global range of this species is from Macaronesia, through much of Europe to Central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). Marhold (2011) includes parts of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean in the distribution. GRIN (2019) considers the species native to Europe, parts of northern Africa, West Asia, and also the Arabian Peninsula (Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen). The species has been widely introduced and is considered a noxious weed in some countries.

In the UAE, this species is rare but widespread in the Hajar Mountains and the Ru'us al-Jibal. Records include wadis (Wadi Daynah and Wadi Mansab) in the mountains south of Shawka (Feulner et al. 2016), Wadi Wurayah (unspecified localities; Feulner 2016), and Wadi Naqab in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium holds numerous specimens from Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah, including from the Siji dam. The global range of this species is across North Africa and the Sahara, through the Arabian Peninsula to north-west India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species is widespread in the northern Hajar Mountains and in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011), including Wadi Wurayah National Park where it occurs in the montane zone at higher elevations (Blue Water Wadi, a tributary of Wadi Ghayl, and an historical record from upper Wadi Siji; Feulner 2016), and also occurs on Jebel Hafeet (Wadi Tarabat protected area; Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012). Mahmoud et al. (2018) recorded the species from dams and water breakers along the western flank of the Hajar Mountains, without specific localities. The global range of this species is across much of northern and eastern Africa, much of southern and Central Europe north to the British Isles, through the Arabian Peninsula, and to Central and South Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Jongbloed et al. (2003) presented a single record of this species, however that record is from Oman (Wilayat Mahdhah; Feulner 2014). Feulner (2014) recorded this species for the UAE from the Yas branch of Wadi Mowrid (Fujairah), northwest of Masafi, where it was found along a donkey track. Pagad et al. (2017) considered this species to be introduced to the UAE through agriculture, and it is listed as an introduced landscape plants by MoCCaE (O. Al Shamsi pers. comm. 2018), however the UAE native plant working group (May 2019) considered the species to be native. The native range of this species is from south-east Europe to Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and in Africa from the north through the Sahara (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018). Regionally, the only other records are from Saudi Arabia (Foley 2004). The species has been very widely introduced as a weed of agricultural crops.

Within the UAE, this species occurs along the Gulf coast of the country, in addition to inland sabkha plains (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010). It has also been recorded from off-shore islands of Abu Dhabi (Sakkir et al. 2017). The global distribution is uncertain because of taxonomic issues, but is thought to extend around the Mediterranean basin, to the Arabian Peninsula.

This species has been recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011), usually close to agriculture but also spreading up hillsides (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). However, the species is easily overlooked. Globally, this species' native range extends from Macaronesia and western Europe to the Mediterranean and Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).