Flora of Israel: Trifolium philistaeum

Trifolium philistaeum, Trifolium stenophyllum, Palestine Clover,
Hebrew: תלתן פלישתי, Arabic: فلسطين البرسيم

Scientific name:   Trifolium philistaeum Zohary
Synonym name:   Trifolium stenophyllum Boiss.
Common name:   Palestine Clover
Hebrew name:   תלתן פלישתי
Arabic name:   فلسطين البرسيم
Plant Family:   Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:   Annual
Leaves:   Alternate; compound, trifoliate; dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Orange; hermaphrodite
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Sand
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

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

philistaeum, from Philistine,
stenophyllum, stenos, στενοϛ narrow, straight; phyllon φυλλον leaf, foliage; narrow leaved.
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 Zohary is used to indicate Michael Zohary (1898 – 1983), a pioneering Israeli botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.