Flora of Israel: Trifolium alexandrinum

Trifolium alexandrinum, Egyptian Clover, Berseem Clover,
Hebrew: תלתן אלכסנדרוני, Arabic: نفل البرسيم


Scientific name:		Trifolium alexandrinum L.
Common name:		Egyptian Clover, Berseem Clover
Hebrew name:		תלתן אלכסנדרוני
Arabic name:		نفل البرسيم
Plant Family:		Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:		Therophyte, annual
Leaves:		Alternate, compound, trifoliate
Flowers:		White
Flowering Period:		April, May
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

_{Location: Kohav Hayarden (Belvoir)}
Derivation of the botanical name:

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

alexandrinum, of Alexandria in Egypt.
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 L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

_{Location: Kohav Hayarden (Belvoir)}