On Sinai characteristics of all three vegetation types can be found. In Egypt’s
north the Mediterranean desert zone takes the form of a desert steppe with
herbs and shrubs of the Thymelaeaceae and Chenopodiacea families. South of
these, Artemisia species (vermouth) and caper trees (Capparis) occur. On the
saline soils of the depressions and of the dried-up lagoons we find halophytes.
In the brackish waters of the Natrun valley and in the outer parts of Lake
Qarun in Faiyum there are cypress grass (Cyperaceae), bulrushes (Juncaceae) and
tamarisks (Tamarix) (Schamp 1977: 77). In the south-east of the Mediterranean
desert zone Pennisetum species occur on limey soils, and species of Ephedra, as
well as of Salicornia on pebbly soils. In wadis we may find different types of
acacia trees. Along the Red Sea coast a longitudinal strip of desert vegetation
profits from the relatively high air humidity, the run-off from the mountain
range and the wet saline soils in the coastal depressions. Here halophytes
occur, around which nebkas tend to form. In the extreme south of Egypt’s
Red Sea coast in Ras Muhammad and along the Gulf of Aqaba, there are
mangrove swamps, and around wadi mouths there are acacia trees and dum
palms (Hyphaene thebaica) as well as ephemeral herbs and grasses