Lotus halophilus, Lotus villosus,
Greater bird's foot trefoil,
Hebrew: לוטוס שעיר, Arabic: الحربث ، رجل العصفور، قرن الغزال

Scientific name:		Lotus halophilus Boiss.et Spruner
Synonym name:		Lotus villosus Forssk.
Common name:		Greater bird's foot trefoil
Hebrew name:		לוטוס שעיר
Arabic name:		الحربث ، رجل العصفور، قرن الغزال
Family:		Papilionaceae, פרפרניים

Life form:		Annual
Stems:		10-30 cm high; pubescent
Leaves:		Alternate, imparipinnate (pinnately compound leaves in which there is a lone terminal leaflet rather than a terminal pair of leaflets), sessile or shortly petiolate; oblong-obovate
Inflorescence:		Heads 1- to 9-flowered
Flowers:		Yellow; peduncles longer than leaves; lateral calyx-teeth slightly shorter than upper
Fruits / pods:		Legume, ellipsoid body; curved at apex
Flowering Period:		February, March, April, May
Habitat:		Sand
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Lotus, the classical Greek name. halophilus, Greek hals, sea, salty; phileo, to love; salt-loving. villosus, shaggy, hairy. The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician. The standard author abbreviation Spruner is used to indicate Wilhelm von Spruner (1805 - 1874), a German military pharmacist, 1834 - 43 in Greek service and plant collector. The standard author abbreviation Forssk. is used to indicate Peter Forsskål (1732 – 1763), a Swedish explorer, orientalist and naturalist.