Flora of Israel: Purple Clover

Trifolium purpureum, Purple Clover,
Hebrew: תלתן הארגמן, Arabic: نفل قرنفلي

Scientific name:   Trifolium purpureum Loisel.
Common name:   Purple Clover
Hebrew name:   תלתן הארגמן
Arabic name:   نفل قرنفلي
Plant Family:   Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:   Annual
Leaves:   Alternate, compound, trifoliate
Flowers:   Purple
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Trifolium, Latin tri, tres, three; folium, leaf; three-leaved.

purpureum, purple colored.
The Hebrew name: תלתן, taltan, clover, trefoil, from tlat (Aramaic) three; the clover is recalled in the Mishnah Kilayim 2:5, “[a field} of clover among which grew up…”

  • The standard author abbreviation Loisel. is used to indicate Jean Louis August Loiseleur-Deslongchamps (1774 – 1849), a French botanist.