This species is common and widespread in low dunes of the eastern Emirates in the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Meharibi et al. 2019). It is generally absent from coastal areas. Outlying records include from Jebel Dhanna (in the far west of the UAE), east of Abu Dhabi, the base of Jebel Hafeet (Brown et al. 2007), and Wadi Al Ain (Mousa and Fawzi 2009). The species is present in the Hajar Mountains (wadis, lower slopes, foothills and alluvial plains; Feulner 2011). Al Meharibi et al. (2019) show a more restricted distribution in inland coastal sand sheets from Abu Dhabi to the northern Emirates. The species is scattered on near-coastal sands in western Abu Dhabi Emirate, rare on near-coastal sands elsewhere, probably due to grazing pressure; it is most often now seen by roads (e.g. Al-Ain-“Dubai road) where livestock can't get at it. The species is also common on limestone outcrops (Jebel Nazwa-“very common locally, Jebel Hafeet, some small patches in the middle of the desert) and in parts of the Hajar Mountains (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019).The native range of this species is from the western Sahara, across Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, to northwest India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).