99% of the land area is bare ground, or sparse vegetation.[1] Shrubs and herbaceous vegetation are found in the deep wadis and gullies that can retain moisture, and after a rainfall there are areas that briefly sprout grasses.[2] Most of the plant diversity is in the southern Sinai, where 700 species of vascular plants have been recorded, and 35 endemic species.[4] A number of the endemic species of vertebrates are reptiles, including the endangered Sinai cat snake (Telescopus hoogstraali) and the endangered Phoenicolacerta kulzeri.[8]