Within the UAE, this species occurs along the Arabian Gulf coast within the north of the country (Jongbloed et al. 2003), including from Jebel Ali, northwards to Umm al-Quwain. The estimated EOO is 1,885 km² and the species is considered to occur within two threat-based locations. The native range of this species spans from the Arabian Peninsula to central Asia and Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species is found along the Gulf coast, including Ras al-Khiamah (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010) although Hornby (2005), who previously found the species at Taweela, considered it to be a ""very thinly spread"" species. The estimated EOO of E. jugatum is 779 km² and is considered to occur at three locations based on ongoing degradation and development. The global range of this species is through the Arabian Peninsula from sea level to 200 m asl in Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman (Långström 2002), and Saudi Arabia (Norton et al. 2009).

Desmidorchis flava occurs in Wadi Farfar, Wadi Sfai and Wadi Sahm (Olive Highlands) within the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2014, D. Aplin pers. comm. 2019). The estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) for this species 261 km². It is also known from Jebel Ghaweel in Oman. Globally this species occurs in Yemen, Oman, the UAE and Qatar (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).

Within the UAE, this species is restricted to a single wadi (Fawzi and Ksiksi 2012, Ksiksi et al. 2012): Wadi Tarabat, a valley in the northern foothills of Jebel Hafeet in Abu Dhabi Emirate (Jongbloed et al. 2003). The native range of this species is reported as north-east Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Iran (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019). Within Oman, the species is known from a number of localities in the Hajar Mountains, including Jebel Akhdar, Muscat and north to the Musandam Peninsula.

This species is widespread in the northeastern UAE, from Jebel Hafeet (<a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00586818"">RBGE; coll. J.R. Edmondson, 1980</a>; <a href=""http://data.rbge.org.uk/herb/E00586811"">RBGE; coll. R.A. Western 1982</a>) and Al Ain north to Ras Al Khaimah, widespread north of Abu Dhabi-Al Ain road, east to the foothills of the Hajar Mountains (Jongbloed et al. 2003). It is also recorded from Dubai, south of Dubai and to the west towards Abu Dhabi. Whilst subpopulations have been lost, leading to a decline in the area of occupancy, it is unclear whether the extent of occurrence has undergone decline. The species is found through the Arabian Peninsula to south-east Iraq and southern Iran (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

In the UAE, this species is known from two locations in the Ru'us al-Jibal; one at c. 1,000 m elevation near cultivation on 'Fine Peak plateau"", an area on Yabana ridge, downhill and west from Jebel Yabana (Feulner 2007, 2011, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019), and a second to the south, near Wadi Beh (G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). The EOO is less than 40 km² and the AOO is 8 km². The global range of this species is across north-east Africa, through the northern Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) to Iran and Central Asia (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, it has been recorded from a few scattered records in low mountains (MEW 2010, G.R. Feulner in litt, MEW 2010). Records include slopes in the north-east of the Jebel Qitab ridge within Fujairah (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Feulner 2014). Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium holds specimens from Qurayyah on the east coast and from southeast from Wadi Al Helo, however, these records require confirmation. Feulner (2011) reports the species from the Wadi Khab al-Shamsi narrows, however, it is thought that this locality is within Oman, not the UAE. Based on the confirmed locality on the Jebel Qitab slopes, both the AOO and EOO are likely to be highly restricted, very much less than 50 km². Globally, this species native range spans from southern Africa to north-east Africa and India, in addition to encompassing Arkansas, Arizona and Mexico within the Americas (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019).

Within the UAE, this species has been recorded from the Khor Kalba plain (Jongbloed et al. 2003, MEW 2010), with a first tentative identification in 1982 from a ""...roundabout next to Khor Kalba power station"" (Western 1987). The maximum EOO of the area of Khor Kalba was estimated at less than 20 km², with the AOO likely to not exceed 18 km². A second record of the species, also from Sharjah Emirate, requires confirmation, with the photograph of the record lost and no specimen found in SSBH (J. Pereira pers. comm. 2020). This species is native to Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2019), with Ghazanfar et al. (2019) giving the distribution as mainly from eastern Saudi Arabia to Jordan, with an outlier recorded in Oman.

In the UAE, this species is known from Jebel Hafeet (Jongbloed et al. 2003), where it is known from three distinct areas;<ol><li>Wadi Tarabat: the upper reaches (a few plants observed; G. Brown pers. comm. 2019) and on the plains and lower parts of Wadi Tarabat at the northern end of Jebel Hafeet (R. Khan, G.R. Feulner pers. comm. 2019). Two locations, based on the division of this area by the privately managed fenced reserve.</li><li>Very locally immediately to the east of Jebel Hafeet at the base of the mountain. One location, defined by camel grazing.</li><li>A small subpopulation in a small wadi at high elevation (900 m) close to the summit (S. Sakkir pers. comm. 2019). One location; threats uncertain, but likely to include grazing pressure and drought.</li></ol>In addition, the species has been recorded once in Wadi Shuaib (T. Mahmoud pers. comm. 2019), however the origin of the species here requires confirmation; it is may be of anthropogenic origin, or have originated from above the dame, in adjacent parts of Oman. The estimated EOO for this species is 213 km². There are at present no records of the species from Oman, but it might be expected to occur in the Musandam Peninsula (S. Ghazanfar pers. comm. 2019) or on adjacent parts of Jebel Hafeet. Globally, this species occurs in Egypt (Sinai), the eastern Mediterranean (Israel, Palestine, Jordan), through the Arabian Peninsula, to Iraq and Iran (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018), whilst Greuter (2006-2009) gives a wider distribution to Morocco in North Africa and possibly north to Lebanon-Syria, but excludes the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Iran.

Jongbloed et al. (2003) presented only a single record (Wadi Siji) for the UAE, with MEW (2010) recording three unspecified sites. However, since then the species has been found at numerous sites within the Hajar Mountains. Records include Wadi Wurayah National Park (WWNP; Feulner 2016, Judas 2016), the gravel outwash on the UAE side of the border from Wadi Agram (Gardner 2009), from the gravel plains in the vicinity of Jebel Hafeet (Sakkir and Brown 2014, EAD 2018) and Wadi Helo (El-Keblawy et al. 2016). Mahmoud et al. (2018) found the species in gravel plains and wadis in their recent study of dams along the western slopes of the Hajar Mountains, without specifying the localities. The Sharjah Seedbank & Herbarium holds six records from the UAE: Wadi Al Nahwa (Nahwa), Sharjah-kalba Road and Shawka (Ras Al Khaimah), Sayh Mudayrah (Ajman), Al Khudairah, Al Dhaid (Sharjah) and Fili. In the WWNP, the two specimens were found in synanthropic areas (the picnicking area below the Wadi Wurayah waterfall and in the silt behind the Wadi Wurayah dam; Feulner 2016), meaning the origin of the species in the park may require confirmation. Due to the absence of precise locality data for some records, it is difficult to accurately estimate the EOO and AOO. However, it is suggested that the EOO is likely to be less than 5,000 km² and the AOO less than 100 km². This species is endemic to Oman and the UAE (Patzelt 2014). Within Oman, it is found in the north (Western and Eastern Hajar Mountains) and in the centre, on Masirah Island.