Well the Red Sea Coast has plenty of small plants, just no forests, large grasslands, etc... due to local climate.

It's probably unlikely for a verdant grassland to pop up next to the Qatta depression, but a lot of small plants I can believe.

It is claimed that a lack of trees leads to a lack of rain (leading to a lack of trees)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/20/our-bigg...

[1] argues a crucial component of greening is trees "pumping" water from the oceans inland and creating nutritious soil. Otherwise evaporated water is simply blown away by the wind. I'm sure other local terrain (e.g., mountains) play a part in locally retaining evaporated water and creating conditions for rain.

[1] The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from A Secret World by Peter Wohlleben.