Commelina sphaerorhizoma is found in south-central Africa and is currently known only from the southerneastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, specifically in Haut-Katanga District around the town of Gombela and in the Kundelungu National Park.
Threats to the species include its low numbers and limited gene pool, degradation of its habitat by axis deer, and feral pigs, damage to plants by slugs, rats, and birds, and competition by exotic plants such as climbing dayflower (Commelina diffusa), air plant (Kalanchoe pinnata), and castor bean (Ricinus communis).
During the wet season, these are supplemented with herbs such as dayflowers and Indigofera, while in the dry season, the oryx instead eat the tubers and stems of Pyrenacantha malvifolia and other succulent plants that help to provide the animals with water.