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).

This species is apparently known from few records in the UAE. Jongbloed et al. (2003) reported it from Sweihan (Al Ain region) and from Bu Hasa to the west in Abu Dhabi Emirate (Brown and Sakkir 2004). Fisher (2007) recorded the species on Ras Al Akhdhar, on Abu Dhabi Island, which is now entirely developed. Globally, the species is found from the western Sahara to the Arabian Peninsula (Mandaville 1990, Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Jongbloed et al. (2003) show a narrow distribution through the Hajar Mountains in the UAE. This species has also been recorded within the Olive Highlands in the UAE (Feulner 2014), on the upper parts of Jebel Qitab summit plateau at c.1,000 m elevation. It also occurs in adjacent parts of Oman in the same mountain group, as well as at lower altitudes (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The species is found in fallow fields and in plantations (Jongbloed et al. 2003) and is a ruderal species (Feulner 2014), and its origin in the country perhaps requires confirmation. Globally, this species occurs across the Sahara and northern Africa from Morocco eastwards to the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). Plants of the World Online does not list the UAE as a native country for this species (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019), however Ghazanfar (2015) includes the UAE, Oman, and northern and eastern Saudi Arabia in the regional distribution.

This species is widespread in the Hajar Mountains and the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003). In the southern Hajar Mountains in the UAE, the species is found along ridges in the 'Olive Highlands' (Feulner 2014), in Wadi Wurayah National Park at all elevations (Feulner 2016), and at all elevations in wadis and on plateaus in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). The global range of this species is through the Arabian Peninsula to Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).