Trifolium spumosum, Mediterranean clover,
Hebrew: תלתן הקצף, Arabic: النفل الرغوي

Scientific name:  Trifolium spumosum L.
Common name:  Mediterranean clover
Hebrew name:   תלתן הקצף
Arabic name:  النفل الرغوي
Plant Family:  Papilionaceae, פרפרניים

Flora of Israel online

Life form:  Annual
Leaves:  Alternate, compound, trifoliate, dentate or serrate
Flowers:  Pink
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:  Med - Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Trifolium spumosum, Mediterranean clover, תלתן הקצף


Derivation of the botanical name:
Trifolium, Latin tri, tres, three; folium, leaf; three-leaved.
spumosum, frothy, spongy.
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.

Israel native plants, Flora, Palestine, Botany
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool


Trifolium spumosum, Mediterranean clover, תלתן הקצף
Location: Sea of Galilee, Mount of Beatitudes