Israel wildflowers: Tall Wild Pea

Pisum elatius, Tall Wild Pea,
Hebrew: אפון קיפח, Arabic: بسلة عالية

Scientific name:   Pisum elatius M.Bieb.
Common name:   Tall Wild Pea
Hebrew name:   אפון קיפח
Arabic name:   بسلة عالية
Family:   Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Leaves:   Alternate, compound, pinnate
Flowers:   Pink, Purple
Flowering Period:   April, May
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:

Pisum, the Latin name for the pea.

elatius, taller, loftier, more exalted.
The Hebrew name: אפון ,אפונה, afun, afuna, appears in the Mishnah, Kil’ayim Chapter 3:2 ( prohibitions).

  • The standard author abbreviation M.Bieb. is used to indicate Friedrich August Marschall von Bieberstein (1768 – 1826), a German botanist.


Date Picture Taken: March 27, 2007