Flora of Israel: Trifolium stellatum

Trifolium stellatum, Star Clover,
Hebrew: תלתן כוכבני, Arabic: النفل النجمي

Scientific name:   Trifolium stellatum L.
Common name:   Star Clover
Hebrew name:   תלתן כוכבני
Arabic name:   النفل النجمي
Plant Family:   Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   Erect or ascending; less than 100 cm tall; Stems solid; sparsely to densely hairy; stems hairs pilose or spreading
Leaves:   Alternate, compound, trifoliate, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Inflorescences globose heads, capitate or subcapitate; petals pink, white
Fruits / pods:   Legume, 1-seeded, Seeds cordiform, mit-shaped, notched at one end, Seed surface smooth, Seeds olive, brown, or black
Flowering Period:   February, March, April
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

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

stellatum, with stars, starry.
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.