Within the UAE, this species has been recorded from Abu Dhabi and Dubai emirates (Jongbloed et al. 2003) and along the gulf coast (MEW 2010). The species has also been recorded from north of Shwayb (<a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00398802"">RBG Edinburgh Herbarium; 325 m, c. 45 km north of Al Ain</a>). This species is restricted to Socotra and the Arabian Peninsula (Gulf States, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen) (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

Within the UAE, this species is recorded from Jebel Faya and Qarn Nazwa (G.M. Brown pers. obs., G.R. Feulner pers comm. 2018, MEW 2010). Globally, this species occurs across North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

The distribution of this species within the UAE is apparently not well known. The species is mentioned by Jongbloed et al. (2003) with no distribution map; in addition, there are few mentions of the species in the available UAE literature, and the species does not occur in the available locality data (Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium, RBG Kew seed survey data), which primarily cover the northern emirates. The only specific locality found (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2018) is from an irrigated area south of the Al Marmoom lakes.Globally, this species occurs across northern Africa to the Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman and the UAE; Board of Trustees, RBG 2018).

This species is widespread throughout the UAE except in mountainous areas (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Meharibi et al. 2019). Jongbloed et al. (2003) considered the species to occur on offshore islands (Jongbloed et al. 2003), including Abu Dhabi Island (Western 1982, 1983), although the recent map of Al Meharibi et al. (2019) show it to be absent from the islands, as well as from some coastal areas in Abu Dhabi Emirate. The species is also recorded for Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2016, Judas 2016), although Feulner comments that it is known from a single site at the waterfall and is likely to be of anthropogenic origin here. Globally, this species occurs widely across Africa, in the Arabian Peninsula and in India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

Within the UAE, it is known to occur to the northeast of Taweela (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019) and along the coast in the northern Emirates (G.R. Feulner in litt., MEW 2010), in addition to offshore islands (G. Brown and S. Sakkir pers. comm. 2019). Although it was previously recorded from Jebel Hafeet, this record is thought to be erroneous due to possible confusion with Gymnocarpos decandrus (Brown et al. 2007). The estimated EOO for this species is 18,168 km² and it is thought to occur at between 6-10 threat-based locations according to ongoing development. Globally, the native range of this species spans from Egypt and north-east Africa to Sinai and the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Jongbloed et al. (2003) considered this species to be widespread through the Hajar Mountains and along the east coast of the UAE, with scattered occurrences along the Arabian Gulf coast (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah), as well as inland. In the Ru'us al-Jibal, the species is occasional (Feulner 2011), and the species occurs on the offshore islands of Abu Dhabi Emirate (Sakkir et al. 2017). The species has been recorded from Jebel Hafeet, but considered to be introduced there associated with increased urbanisation (Sakkir and Brown 2014). MEW (2010) considered the species to be common and widespread in wadis and urban areas, in moist locations. This species is widespread globally, and considered native across large parts of Europe, Asia and northern parts of Africa, whilst introduced to the Americas, Australasia, and South Africa (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). However, the origin of the species is unclear as a result of widespread and historical cultivation, and DEEDI (2019) considers the species native to northwestern Africa (i.e. Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), Europe, western and central Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, western Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), China, and the Indian Sub-continent (i.e. northern India, Nepal and Pakistan), introduced and naturalised elsewhere. GRIN (2019) also exclude the Arabian Peninsula from the native distribution of the species.

Within the UAE, this species is recorded from oases and irrigated agricultural areas in the Hajar Mountain range (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium hold records from near Al Ain city and from the Ru'us al-Jibal whose origin require confirmation. Aspinall et al. (1995) reported the species from Wadi Shih (Khor Fakkan) and Wadi Hayl (Fujairah). Globally, this species native range spans from Cape Verde across tropical Africa and to Madagascar, in addition to encompassing tropical and subtropical America (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Only three records of this species have been found for the UAE. An isotype was collected ""in the mountains"" in the UAE (presumably the Hajar Mountains) by Schimper in 1844 (held at <a href=""https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/11601/_HERBARW_NHMV_AUSTRIA_87887.html"">Natural History Museum, Vienna - Herbarium W</a>). G.R. Feulner (in litt, MEW 2010) collected the species in 2004-5 from cemented dune sands at the mountain front adjacent to the Qurayyah wetland: an artificial wetland near the base of cliffs on the coastal plain north of Fujairah created by sewage dumping that has since been destroyed by development (Feulner 2016, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). Demissew and Mill (2009) reviewed a specimen from Hatta (hills and foothills, 300 m asl; specimen collected in 1986 and voucher held at <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00421795"">RBG Edinburgh</a>). This species has a wide native range from the Sahara to Tanzania in Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, to north-west India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

The species has a restricted distribution in the UAE, where it is found in the Ru'us al-Jibal Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003) at up to 1,200 m elevation (Feulner 2011), extending into the Hajar Mountains, south to Wadi Wurayah National Park (Wadi Zikt, G.R. Feulner, in litt, MEW 2010), and even to Wadi Fa'y (near Wadi Hatta), including Wadi Shawka (M. Tsaliki pers. comm. 2019), but as isolated records rather than as a continuous distribution. The EOO is less than 1,000 km². The global range of this species is from Spain and Macaronesia, across north and north-east Africa, through to the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species is reported from a single locality in the upper parts of Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The draft Red Data Book (MEW 2010) considered the record to be unconfirmed. Whilst detailed locality data for Jebel Hafeet are not available, the extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are both likely to be less than 8 km². Although, in general, records of this species within the UAE appear to be unconfirmed (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019). G. Brown, S. Sakkir and S. Ghazanfar state that they have not seen this species within the UAE or in Oman (pers. comm. 2019). The global distribution requires confirmation, but the species appears to be restricted to the West Asia region, from the Sinai and southern Israel to the Arabian Peninsula and east to Afghanistan (Kilian et al. 2019), although Plants of the World Online (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019) does not cite occurrence in the UAE.