H. polysperma is native to Tropical Asia, and has been found in the regions of: India, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. In India, H. polysperma is found in wet areas to an altitude of 1600m. It is also present in southern China, and is very rare in the lowlands of Taiwan.

H. polysperma is currently naturalized in Florida and Texas in the southern United States, and has also established in northern Mexico. H. polysperma has been reported in the past as being established as far north as Virginia, though the current status of this population in unknown. H. polysperma has recently been reported in Europe for the first time, where plants were found in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.