The Bulgarian flora is represented by 12,000 species of which 4200 are higher plants. Natural vegetation covers over 50% of the land; 250 plants are endemics, i.e. species that occur only in Bulgaria and nowhere else. Forests cover 30% of the land. Predominantly these are deciduous forests of leaf-shedding tree species - oak (Quercus), beech (Fagus sylvatica), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), maple (Acer campestre), elm (Ulmus), birch (Betula), chestnut (Castanea), ash (Flaxinus), willow (Salix), plane (Platanus); the mountains have a well-grown coniferous belt of spruce (Picea abies), wild pine (Pinus sylvestris), juniper (Juniperus) and the Balkan endemic Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce Griseb.) and Heldreich pine (Pinus heldreichii Christ.). Interesting dense forests of over 40 tree and shrub species can be seen along the rivers in the southern and eastern regions of the country. Evergreen vegetation grows in the southernmost regions.