This is a widespread species in the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003) in the eastern UAE, including in Dubai, Al Ain, Sharjah, Ajman and R'as al-Khaimah (Karim and Dakheel 2006), and south to Jebel Hafeet (Wadi Tarabat; Brown 2005). Al Meharibi et al. (2019) show a distribution throughout the Hajar Mountains in the eastern UAE, to the east coast. The species is also recorded from Wadi Helo (El-Keblawy et al. 2016), and from the Ru'us al Jibal, although confusion with other species of Cymbopogon is possible (Feulner 2011), and it is uncertain if records are from parts of the Ru'us al-Jibal within the UAE. The overall distribution is uncertain as this species is easily confused with C. schoenanthus, and Feulner (2016) considered only the latter species to be present in Wadi Wurayah. The global distribution of this species extends from West Africa (Senegal and Mauritania) to north-eastern and eastern tropical Africa, to the Arabian Peninsula and ad north India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).