The draft Red Data Book for UAE plants (MEW 2010) considered this species to be common along the Gulf coast and adjacent salt flats in the sandy deserts in the south of the Emirates. It has also been recorded from Al Ain area. Jongbloed et al. (2003) considered T. nilotica the valid name with T. arabica as a synonym, giving the distribution as along the Arabian Gulf coastline, as well as in sandy desert areas with near-surface brackish water.

This species is widespread along the Arabian Gulf coast all along the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Meharibi et al. 2019), including the coastal white sands at Taweela (Brown et al. 2007). It has also been found well away from the coast in wadis on Jebel Hafeet (Brown et al. 2007). Globally, this species occurs in most of Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

Within the UAE, this species is recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). The species has been widely introduced through cultivation; natural occurrence in the UAE is likely but requires confirmation. Globally, this species spans across Europe and Macaronesia, to north-west India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

The current presence and origin of this species in the UAE are uncertain. Jongbloed et al. (2003) listed 'Salix cf. acmophylla' and showed a single site in the northern Hajar Mountains in the UAE, based on a record of a solitary plant in a wadi bed plantation near Al-Ghail (G.R. Feulner, in litt, MEW 2010), but that plant was not found on a return visit to the area a number of years later (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). Feulner (2001) and Jongbloed et al. (2003) reported two sites with small stands of S. acmophylla in wadis in Wilayat Mahdhah, Oman, adjacent to the UAE border north of Buraimi. Feulner (pers. comm. 2019) noted that all records from northern Oman and the UAE are from agricultural or peri-agricultural areas. This species occurs mainly in the Middle East, from Sinai and Turkey east through Iran and Iraq to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, with a few scattered population in the Arabian Peninsula (Nasir and Ali 1980-2005). In the Arabian Peninsula, this species is known from north-west and the east of Saudi Arabia (Chaudhary 2001) and Oman (Miller and Cope 1996).

Within the UAE, it is widespread throughout oases in the Hajar Mountains, specifically in the Masafi area (MEW 2010), in addition to occurring in urban areas (Jongbloed et al. 2003). Globally, the native range of this species spans from northern Africa and the Mediterranean to central Asia and the Indian subcontinent (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, this species occurs along the coast line and has been specifically recorded from Abu Dhabi (Qureshi 2017). It is also known to occur on offshore islands within the UAE (S. Sakkir pers. comm. 2019). Globally, the native range of this species spans from northern Africa to Greece, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia and through to southwest Siberia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE it is thought to be restricted to the Ru'us al-Jibal area (Feulner 2011). It is known to occur between elevations of c. 500 m and 1450 m (Feulner 2011). Globally, the native range of this species across Sinai, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, it occurs along both the Arabian Gulf coast and the East coast, in addition to within oases in the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It has been recorded from the R'as al-Khaimah, Sila and Jebel al-Dhana (Karim and Dakheel 2006). Globally, this species' native range encompasses Macaronesia and northern Africa to northwest India and Russia, in addition to southern Africa (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, it is widespread throughout the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It has been recorded at low elevations in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). Globally, this species is native to northern Africa, Europe, in addition to from the Arabian Peninsula through to Nepal (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, this species has been recorded from a small number of localities. A.R. Western collected the species from Kalba oasis in 1985 from c.3 km inland (Jongbloed et al. 2003, <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00358122"">UAE Herbarium specimen</a>), however, the Kalba area was searched for this species over the period 2007-2009 without success according to Shahid and Rao (2017). G.R. Feulner (pers. comm. 2019) has found the species c.10 km north of Kalba. Shahid and Rao (2017) found a new locality for this species 200 m from the Gulf coast near Oud Al Owaid in Umm al-Quwain Emirate (although Shahid and Rao (2017) refer to the site being in Ra's Al Khaimah Emirate), however when this site was revisited in 2013, it was found to have been cleared for development, and the species was not refound (Shahid and Rao 2017). Al Meharibi et al. (2019) consider the species to be restricted to Kalba. G.R. Feulner (in litt, MEW 2010) reported the species from a tributary of Wadi Shawka (Ra's Al Khaimah) and G.R. Feulner (pers. comm. 2019) reported that the species has been found at other peri-anthropic and wild localities. The Sharjah Seedbank and Herbarium hold a herbarium specimen from Sharjah city (Al Wahda Street, Sharjah), however, this locality is heavily urbanised, and whilst the locality is within an unpaved car parking area, the persistence of the species at this site requires confirmation. The global distribution of this species is across Africa from the Sahara to Somalia and south to Tanzania, the eastern Mediterranean and through the Arabian Peninsula to Southeast Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). The distribution shown by Fowler (2002) omits parts of the Arabian Peninsula, including Oman, Qatar and the UAE. GRIN (2019) cite only Saudi Arabia for the Arabian Peninsula. G.R. Feulner (in litt, MEW 2010) reported the species from a wadi at the base of Jebel Ghawil in Oman, and in the Arabian Peninsula, while A. Patzelt and S.G. Knees (unpublished Arabian Peninsula Red List assessment) gave the regional distribution as occurring in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, including Socotra (Miller and Morris 2004, Cope 2007).