Israel wildflowers: Reversed Trefoil

Trifolium resupinatum, Reversed Trefoil,
Hebrew: תלתן הפוך, Arabic: النفل المتكئ, Egypt: قرط “Qort”

Scientific name:   Trifolium resupinatum L.
Common name:   Reversed Trefoil
Hebrew name:   תלתן הפוך
Arabic name:   النفل المتكئ
Egypt:   قرط “Qort”
Plant Family:   Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:   Annual
Leaves:   Alternate, compound, trifoliate, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Pink, violet
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   The Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

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

resupinatum, bent back, upside down.
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.