This species was considered introduced to the UAE (Pagad et al. 2017, citing CABI). However, subsequent expert opinion (UAE Native Plant Working Group, 2019) considered that the species may be native to the country. Along the Arabian Gulf coast, the species is primarily found in urban areas, including Abu Dhabi Island; it also occurs along the east coast and the Hajar Mountains and around Al Ain (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The native range of this species is the temperate and subtropical Old World (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018), who include the UAE in its native distribution, however, it has been widely introduced globally (CABI 2018).

The species is apparently known from Mushrif National Park (now a suburban park, but originally a traditional oasis where remnant native flora were found) in Dubai (coll. K. Müller-Hohenstein, 1986; <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00450010"">RBGE Herbarium</a>). The species is also known from a locality near the Emirates Road in Sharjah (Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium record). The origin and distribution of the species within the UAE requires confirmation. The global range of this species is circum-Mediterranean, through much of the Arabian Peninsula, east to India and north to Central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, it is known to be widespread throughout the Hajar Mountains and in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is known to occur at elevations up to 1,635 m in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). Globally, the native range of this species spans across Europe and northern Africa to Ethiopia, Socotra and western Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

This species has a scattered distribution in the eastern Emirates of the UAE, with records from the Arabian Gulf coast, from the east coast, Al Ain (Jongbloed et al. 2003) and from Jebel Hafeet (Abu Dhabi Emirate; Sakkir and Brown 2014). The origin of the species is uncertain, and the opinion of the UAE native plant working group (June 2019) was divided. The species occurs in the Olive Highlands as a result of human transport (Feulner 2014) and in two peri-anthropic localities in Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2016). It occurs in the Ru'us al Jibal to at least 1,550 m elevation (Feulner 2011). The species is very widespread globally, however the native distribution is uncertain and it has been very widely introduced and naturalised. GRIN (2019) considered it to be native to parts of Europe, Africa, Asia-Temperate and Asia-Tropical, but naturalised in the Arabian Peninsula (and not recorded for the UAE). In contrast, Plants of the World Online (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019) considers it native to western Europe, northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, and introduced elsewhere.

This species appears to have a scattered distribution in the UAE. Jongbloed et al. (2003) show records in the west (Sabkhat Matti), at Jebel Hafeet, and in the northwest, in the Musandam Peninsula. It has also been found in Taweelah, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ra's al-Khaimah and the Sweihan-Al Hayer area, and is possibly distributed along the entire near-coastal region west of Abu Dhabi Island (Brown et al. 2007). More recent surveys confirm that the species is abundant in deserts in the northern Gulf (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019). Globally, this species occurs in southern Africa, across much of northern Africa, Spain, France, the Middle East and various parts of Central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018). It has been widely introduced to the Americas, parts of western Europe, and to Australia.

The species is mentioned by Jongbloed et al. (2003) without details. The species has been recorded from Jebel Hafeet (Sakkir and Brown 2014) and from Fujairah (RBG Edinburgh Herbarium; Jebal Ruwaydah at the head of Wadi Sidakh). More recent surveys confirm that the species is abundant in deserts in the northern Gulf (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019). The native range of this species is along Mediterranean coastal countries of North Africa to Ethiopia, and the eastern Mediterranean (from Greece eastwards), through the Arabian Peninsula, to Mongolia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). The species has become widespread and invasive in arid and semi-arid regions of North America and Australia (CABI 2019).

Within the UAE, this species is generally considered to be widespread throughout northern parts of the country (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Mehairbi et al. (2019). It is known to occur in Al Ain and Dubai (Karim and Dakheel 2006), and in the Ru'us al-Jibal the species has been recorded from elevations up to 1,350 m (Feulner 2011). Al Mehairbi et al. (2019) show it to be absent from parts of the western coast of Abu Dhabi Emirate. Globally, the native range of this species is from Italy (Sicily) and Greece, through much of Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, and east to the Indian Subcontinent (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). It has been very widely introduced outside this native range.

Within the UAE, this species is recorded from higher elevations in the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011). Brown and Sakkir (2004) report the species from rocky habitats in Abu Dhabi Emirate, without details. The draft Red Data Book for the UAE considered the species to be common in the northern region of the UAE (MEW 2010). The full distribution is not clear as a result of confusion with other members of the genus in the UAE. Globally, this species has a broad distribution that ranges from the eastern Sahara to Afghanistan in Asia (Clayton et al. 2006), being known from northeastern africa (Sudan, Egypt, including the Sinai Peninsula), Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and around the Persian Gulf reaching Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. Records indicate a distribution in altitude that can range between 500 and 1,200 m asl across its global range (Ghasemkhani et al. 2008).

This species has been recorded in the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003), although detailed information regarding its distribution is lacking. Globally this species occurs in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

Within the UAE, the species has been recorded in Wadi Bih within the Ru'us al-Jibal (Böer and Chaudhary 1999, Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011); the elevation range requires confirmation. Feulner notes a second unconfirmed locality at high elevations of around 1,300 m (Feulner 2011). Globally, the species occurs in North Africa, Greece, Turkey, much of the Middle East, India and Central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).