This species occurs widely in the central and north-eastern UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003), and it is also present in the Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2016), in wadi beds in the 'Olive Highlands' (Feulner 2014), and the coastal white sands at Taweela, Abu Dhabi (Brown et al. 2007). Globally, this species is distributed across North Africa, the Middle East, throughout the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan and India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

In the UAE, Panicum turgidum is widespread and occurs in nearly all of the country. It is rarer in the mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003) but may occur on some islands (e.g. Abu Dhabi Island; Western 1983). Al Meharibi et al. (2019) consider the species to be absent from Hajar Mountains and the east coast, and also from coastal areas; they comment that this species has undergone significant declines as a result of habitat loss and overgrazing. Globally, Panicum turgidum occurs in North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan and India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

This species is common and widespread in low dunes of the eastern Emirates in the UAE (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Meharibi et al. 2019). It is generally absent from coastal areas. Outlying records include from Jebel Dhanna (in the far west of the UAE), east of Abu Dhabi, the base of Jebel Hafeet (Brown et al. 2007), and Wadi Al Ain (Mousa and Fawzi 2009). The species is present in the Hajar Mountains (wadis, lower slopes, foothills and alluvial plains; Feulner 2011). Al Meharibi et al. (2019) show a more restricted distribution in inland coastal sand sheets from Abu Dhabi to the northern Emirates. The species is scattered on near-coastal sands in western Abu Dhabi Emirate, rare on near-coastal sands elsewhere, probably due to grazing pressure; it is most often now seen by roads (e.g. Al-Ain-“Dubai road) where livestock can't get at it. The species is also common on limestone outcrops (Jebel Nazwa-“very common locally, Jebel Hafeet, some small patches in the middle of the desert) and in parts of the Hajar Mountains (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019).The native range of this species is from the western Sahara, across Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, to northwest India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

This species has been recorded from the Ru'us al-Jibal from c.1,200-1,350 m asl (Feulner 2011, Al Mehairbi et al. 2019). Jongbloed et al. (2003) shows a record from across the border in Oman, and it has also been found from c.800 m there by G.R. Feulner (2011). The species is native range is from Macaronesia, circum-Mediterranean to Ethiopia, through the Arabian Peninsula, to northern India (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

This species occurs at high altitudes in the Ru'us al-Jibal (including the UAE) (G.R. Feulner, in lit, MEW 2010). In addition, it is known from Wadi Bih and from Jebel Masafi in the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). Globally, its native range is Mediterranean to Northern and Western Iran, and Eritrea to South Africa (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

This plant species was considered widespread along the Arabian Gulf coast (Jongbloed et al. 2003) and in the Hajar Mountains. The UAE national Red List workshop restricted the natural range to the Hajar Mountains and associated nearby gravel plains; although Al Mehairbi et al. (2019) retain an almost unbroken distribution along the Gulf coast to the border with Saudi Arabia, this requires confirmation, and the western-most confirmed observation is from the Al Wohoosh protected area on silty-sandy interdunal plains (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019). Probably introduced in parts of its range in the UAE through cultivation as a weed of crops. RBG Edinburgh Herbarium holds five specimens of the species, most from urban or cultivated areas. It has been recorded from the Wadi Wurayah buffer zone (Feulner 2016), Wadi al Ain (Mousa and Fawzi 2009), from the Ru'us al-Jibal (Feulner 2011), and from Wadi Tarabat at Jebel Hafeet (Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012). Outside the UAE, the native distribution is from Macaronesia, around the Mediterranean basin (although apparently absent from some countries and considered introduced to others), across northern and central Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, to Pakistan; considered introduced to southern Africa, the Americas, Australia, and parts of Southeast Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

This species has been recorded from the localities of Khor Fakkan and the Ru'us al-Jibal (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2011). Within the Ru'us al-Jibal, it was recorded at elevations between 1,100-1,450 m (Feulner 2011). Globally, it is native to Spain, from the Sahara to northwest China, also in Tanzania, and from the Indian Subcontinent to Myanmar (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species occurs the mountainous parts of the UAE, in the vicinity of Jebel Hafeet (Sakkir and Brown 2014), the Hajar Mountains, and the Ru'us al-Jibal (Wadi Bih [Feulner 2011]; the actual record is from within Oman, but considered likely to also be present within the UAE). Feulner (2016) recorded a single dry specimen from gravel terrace above Wadi Ghayl in Wadi Wurayah. RBG Edinburgh Herbarium holds two specimens of this species, including one from the alluvial outwash of <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00358219"">Wadi Al Qawr and Wadi Hatta</a>. It is generally found at lower elevations (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). G.R. Brown (pers. comm. 2020) observed large numbers of the species in Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah, and again in Al Ain, and considers it to also be common locally in the mountains. Al Meharibi et al. (2019) consider the species to be restricted to wadis on Jebel Hafeet. The species has an apparently global natural distribution according to Plants of the World online (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018), which considers it to be native to large parts of Africa, temperate Asia to the Indian Subcontinent, and the Americas (west-central U.S.A. to Mexico, and from Peru to Argentina). It is introduced/naturalised to Hawai'i and the UK, and probably elsewhere. It is considered a weed by some references (e.g. Randall 2012).

It is known to be widespread in the northern and eastern parts of the UAE (MEW 2010). The origin of this species is unclear, although CABI (2019) consider it to have originated in Asia, it is now distributed throughout the tropics and sub-tropics of both hemispheres. Plants of the World Online (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019) consider the species to be native to Africa and Asia but introduced elsewhere; they list the UAE as a native country of occurrence for this species.

This species is widespread across the northern parts of the UAE and on offshore islands (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010). Although apparently absent from the Hajar Mountains and the east coast (Jongbloed et al. 2003), Feulner (2011) reports it from ""wadis, lower slopes, foothills and alluvial plains of the mountains"". Feulner (2016) found the species in Wadi Wurayah, but in only two peri-anthropic localities, and reports the species from a peri-urban area at Khor Fakkan; presence east of the Hajar Mountains is probably the result of introduction. The species is recorded from Wadi Al Ain (Mousa and Fawzi 2009) and from Jebel Hafeet (Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012). The global distribution of the species extends from Macaronesia, across Africa (Sahara to Egypt and south to Tanzania), and east through the Arabian Peninsula to Myanmar (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018). Norton et al. (2009) give the regional distribution as Qatar, Bahrain, eastern Saudi Arabia and the UAE.