Within the UAE, this species is known from one hillside on the northern slopes of Jebel Naqab within the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). It has been recorded from a single locality within this area (MEW 2010). All known individuals have been found in localities inaccessible to livestock. Globally, this species is native to dry and tropical Africa, in addition to the Arabian Peninsula, India and Sri Lanka (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

This species was cited for the UAE by Jongbloed et al. (2000), and Jongbloed et al. (2003) mention records from Ajman and Dubai by A.R.Western and U. Deil. Globally, the species is restricted to the Gulf States and Iran (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

MEW (2010) state that the species treated by Jongbloed et al. (2003) as Senna alexandrina (from Ras al Khaimah and Rams) in fact refers to S. holoserica, however, this requires confirmation (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019) and the distribution of S. holosericea in the UAE is uncertain. Globally, the native range of this species extends from Somalia and Egypt to the Arabian Peninsula and on to India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, the only record comes from the northern mountains, however this needs to be confirmed (MEW 2010). It is possible that this species has been misidentified within the UAE, or that records mentioned by MEW (2010) actually occur within Oman. Globally, this species occurs in Oman and from Iran to Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). Plants of the World Online does not list the UAE as native country of occurrence for this species (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species occurs along the Arabian Gulf coast. Its range along the coast is considered to be fragmented. Globally, this species occurs from the Canary Islands, through Europe and northern Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, the species was listed for the UAE by Jongbloed et al. (2000). It is recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal with two known records (Feulner 2011). Due to the lack of confirmed records, the species should be considered as 'uncertain' within the UAE (G.R. Feulner, in litt., MEW 2010). The species was recorded from the Musandam Mountains of northern Oman by Western (1991). The native range of this species encompasses the eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, it has been recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal (MEW 2010). Western recorded the species from 10 km north of Masafi town (coll. R.A. Western, 1990, <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00086574"">RBGE Herbarium</a>, and also recorded by Karim). Globally, the native range of this species spans from the eastern Mediterranean through to central Asia and Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, it is known from a single locality in Wadi Siji (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010). However, it is unclear whether this record represents both this species and its relative, Corallocarpus schimperi, or if it relates only to C. schimperi. Globally, this species occurs from Senegal and Eritrea to Tanzania, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). Plants of the World Online do not list the UAE as a native country of occurrence for this species (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, this species occurs in the Liwa area to the south of the country. It is also found in inland plantation sites. The distribution is uncertain due to confusion with Cistanche tubulosa. Globally, the native range of this species spans across the Mediterranean, Macaronesia and northern Africa to the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, this species has so far been recorded from Jebel Mleiha (Sharjah Emirate; reported by T. Carlisle via S.A. Ghazanfar pers. comm. 2019), Wadi Helo (El-Keblawy et al. 2016; record with photo, no specimen; S.A. Ghazanfar pers. comm. 2019), Jebel Mleiha (S.A. Ghazanfar pers. comm. 2019), in the western Ru'us al-Jibal (single locality above Wadi Sha'am; Feulner 2011), and in the Masafi area (G.R. Feulner, in litt, MEW 2010), including from Wadi Siji in the Wadi Wurayah National Park buffer zone (Feulner 2016). This species appears to have a Mediterranean distribution, but with no records from Libya, Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, except Turkey, where it is considered introduced (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019), although Marhold considers it native there. TavÅŸanoäŸlu et al. (2017) give the general distribution as Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa, Spain (including the Baleares), France, Italy and Greece in Europe, and Turkey. However, there are mentions of this species from Saudi Arabia and from Iraq; the distribution is clearly not well understood, with the species having only just been reported from North Macedonia (Matevski et al. 2019).