Hymenocarpos circinnatus, Hymenocarpus circinnatus, Disk Trefoil,
Hebrew: כליינית מצויה, Arabic: قرنة

Scientific name:  Hymenocarpos circinnatus (L.) Savi,
Hymenocarpus circinnatus (L.) Savi
Common name:  Disk Trefoil
Hebrew name:  כליינית מצויה
Arabic name:  قرنة
Family:   Fabaceae / Papilionaceae, פרפרניים

פרחים וצמחי בר בארץ ישראל

Life form:  Therophyte, annual
Stems:  5-30cm; furry, procumbent-uplinks
Leaves:  Alternate, compound, pinnate or bipinnate, pinnate; smooth margin; stipule
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite; crown 5 - 7 mm, yellow orange; flowers grouped (between 2 and 8) in a head spearing appear at length
Fruits / pods:  a clove in flattened disk, diameter of 10 - 15 mm, with thorns on the margin
Flowering Period:  February, March, April, May
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Hymenocarpos circinnatus, Hymenocarpus circinnatus, Disk Trefoil, כליינית מצויה


Derivation of the botanical name:
Hymenocarpus, Hymen, υμην, ενοϛ, skin, membrane; carpus, fruit; with membranous fruits.
circinnatus, circino, to make round; coiled inwards from the tip.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Savi is used to indicate Gaetano Savi (1769 – 1844), an Italian naturalist.