Family |
Fabaceae
Trifolium erubescens
Fenzl
Trifolium erubescens Fenzl
First published in Pug. Pl. Nov. Syr.: 5 (1842).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, pp. 298–299, Pl. CXIII, 3; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Annual herb with slender, spreading, prostrate or ascending stems 20–50 cm long, lightly clothed in close-lying hairs.
Leaves: Leaflets obovate-oblong and finely toothed, the central one very shortly stalked. Stipules oblong and pointed.
Inflorescence & flowers: Loose spherical heads on slender stalks two to three times as long as the leaves. Calyx hairless, with short triangular upper teeth and lower teeth two to three times longer, finely pointed and hairy at their tips. Corolla whitish-pink to very pale pink, occasionally deeper pink; the oblong-spatulate standard projects beyond the wings and keel.
Fruit: Pod about as long as its supporting stalk and style.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering February–May.
Habitat & elevation: Rocky places, degraded woodland and fields.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Dbayeh, Nahr el Kalb, Batroun, Ras Chekka, Qalmoun, Tripoli, Deir Omar, Beit Meri, Aley, Ghazir, Rayfoun, Hadchit, the Akkar mountains, Mdeirej, the pass north of Ehmej, Bqaatouta and Baskinta.
Syrian distribution: Slenfe, Jaoubat Bourghal, Masyaf–Qadmous, Nebi Younes pass, Qastal Maaf, Kessab, Jabal Aqra, Homs, Massade, Mazraa, Soueida, Tell Qouleib and Qanaouat.
Native range: Ethiopia, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Türkiye.