Within the UAE, this species is widespread in the Hajar Mountains and the Ru'us al-Jibal (MEW 2010). It can be found at altitudes up to 1,250 m (Feulner 2011). Its native range spans from Macaronesia and the Mediterranean to Iran (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

This species is widespread in the UAE from eastern Abu Dhabi, throughout the Hajar Mountains, to the east coast (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Feulner (2016) records the species from Wadi Wurayah. The species is rare in the southern (Jebel Ayuzah) and central (western Zibat) Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011), but it is uncertain if these localities are within the UAE. The species occurs on Jebel Hafeet at medium and high altitudes (Stuart and Stuart 1998, Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012, Al Dhaheri 2017). The global distribution of this species is from northwestern and eastern Africa, widespread across the Arabian Peninsula, extending east to India (Saharo-Sindian/Irano-Turanian distribution; Freitag and Maier-Stolte 2003).

Within the UAE, this species is restricted to higher altitudes (over 1,200 m asl) in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, G.R. Feulner in lit., MEW 2010) and from c.800 m in the 'Olive Highlands' in the Hajar Mountains (MEW 2010, Feulner 2016). The species is absent from Wadi Wurayah (Feulner 2016) but present in Wadi Helo National Park (El-Keblawy et al. 2016). The species occurs in adjacent parts of the Musandam Peninsula in Oman (Rothfels et al. 2012). It is also known from Jebel Malaiha in Sharjah Emirate (Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium). This species native range is Sinai (Egypt) to Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species was recorded once near Al Ain (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Globally this species occurs in East Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, India, Pakistan and South-East Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

The species has a mostly coastal distribution in the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003), with localised populations in salt marshes, streams in wadis and permanent pools (Karim and Dakheel 2006). It has been recorded from islands off Abu Dhabi northwards to Rams (Ra's al-Khaimah) e.g., at Khor Hulaylah (Llewellyn-Smith 2011). Feulner (2016) records the species from wet wadis of the Hajar Mountains but noted that it is largely absent from Shimayliyah and from the east side of the mountains in the UAE, including Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2011), although found north of the Masafi area and as far north as tributaries of Wadi Fa'y, on the southern edge of the Ru'us al-Jibal. G. Feulner (in litt. MEW 2010) that the two main areas where the species is found are Khor Hulaylah and the Abu Dhabi islands. According to participants of the National UAE Red List Workshop (15th-19th September 2019, Dubai), this species also occurs in Wadi Siji and Sharjah. J. rigidus and J. socotranus are easily confused, and confirmation of the identity of records of J. rigidus from the mountains is required. Globally, the species occurs throughout much of Africa, including Mediterranean countries, as well as scattered localities on the northern Mediterranean coast and islands, and east through the Arabian Peninsula and Asia Minor to Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). There are also two records from Ras al-Khaimah within the RBGE Edinburgh collections.

This species occurs across the coast of Abu Dhabi and other areas of the UAE, including off-shore islands (Sakkir et al. 2017). The distribution consists of discontinuous patches along the coastline which is likely the result of coastal development (Sakkir et al. 2017). Within Abu Dhabi alone, this species is estimated to cover an area of 40 km²(Saenger et al. 2004). Throughout the UAE as a whole, there are considered to be 60-70 km² of natural mangroves, and slightly over 150 km² of mangroves when including planted individuals (EAD 2014, H.S. Das pers. comm. 2019). The number of threat-based locations for this species is estimated to be greater than 10 due to multiple patches existing along the UAE coastlines. Its native range extends across the tropical and subtropical Old World (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

This is a common sedge that is found in sands of coastal areas along the Arabian Gulf (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Brown et al. 2007, Mahmoud et al. 2018, Al Mehairbi et al. 2019). This species' native range is Arabian Peninsula, South Iran to Indo-China (Board of Trustees, RGB Kew 2018).

This species was first recorded for the UAE from Ras al-Khaimah beach by Böer and Chaudhary (1999). The species is also known from Yemen, Qatar and from Oman (from 600 m+) (S.A. Ghazanfar pers. comm 2019). There is a need to see the specimen to validate the identification. The species has a very wide global distribution, throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, and is widely introduced and naturalised through the Americas and the Pacific (GRIN 2019).

Within the UAE, this species occurs in the Hajar Mountains in oases and wet areas within plantations (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010, Al Meharibi et al. 2019). Western (1983) reported this species (as the 'Fimbristylis sieberama' [sic.], considered here a synonym) from the Old Sewage Farm on Abu Dhabi Island; the origin and continued presence here must be in doubt, although Al Meharibi et al. (2019) cite presence there. Globally, this species spans across both the tropical and subtropical realms (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). In the Arabian Peninsula, the species is thought to occur in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Yemen (Ghazanfar 2017).

In the UAE this species is recorded from along the Arabian Gulf coast and in the northern Hajar Mountains, including Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Mehairbi et al. 2019). Globally, the native range of this species spans across the Old World (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).