Family |
Fabaceae
Trifolium argutum
Banks & Sol.
Trifolium argutum Banks & Sol.
First published in Natural History of Aleppo, ed. 2, 2: 260 (1794)
≡ Trifolium xerocephalum var. cruentum Bornm. (Verh. K. K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 48: 581, 1898)
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CXI nº 7; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Annual, glabrescent herb with diffuse, branched stems 10–40 cm long.
• Leaves: Stipules with a narrow, lanceolate-subulate free portion; leaflets small, oblong to triangular-obovate, dentate along the margins.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Heads short-pedunculate or partly enclosed by the upper leaves, ovate-oblong to oblong-cylindrical, densely flowered. Bracteoles white, as long as but broader than the calyx tube, forming an involucre-like whorl at the base of the head. Calyx c. 36-nerved, widening at anthesis into a turbinate–pyriform shape; teeth subulate, half the length of the tube. Corolla pink, persistent, faintly membranous, longer than the calyx.
• Fruit: Legume one-seeded.
• Phenology: Flowers March – April; in mountains May – July.
• Habitat & elevation: Prefers sandy or volcanic soils, typically in coastal and lower montane zones.
• Lebanese distribution: Recorded by Mouterde from Chemaʿa, Tyr, Saïda, Ras Jedra, Khaldé, Nahr Ghadir, Aouzaʿi, Bir Hassen, Beirut, Antélias, Nahr el-Kelb, Batroun, Tripoli, ʿAsfouriyé, Beit Méri, Besabba, Khan Sannine, and Ksara.
• Native range: Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Türkiye (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: T. xerocephalum var. cruentum Bornm. differs from the typical form by its prostrate habit (10–20 cm) and dark purplish-red corolla forming elongated, tapering cylindrical heads. Mouterde noted uncertainty regarding its assimilation with T. argutum Banks & Sol., as the original Aleppo description lacked sufficient diagnostic detail