Lathyrus aphaca, Aphaca vulgaris, Lathyrus segetum,
yellow pea, yellow vetch,
Hebrew: טופח מצוי, Arabic: جلبان عفقة

Scientific name:  Lathyrus aphaca L.
Synonym name:  Aphaca vulgaris Presl., Lathyrus segetum Lam.
Common name:  yellow pea, yellow vetch
Hebrew name:  טופח מצוי
Arabic name:  جلبان عفقة
Family:  Fabaceae / Papilionaceae, פרפרניים

Lathyrus aphaca, Aphaca vulgaris, Lathyrus segetum, yellow pea, yellow vetch, טופח מצוי, جلبان عفقة
Location: Givat-Hamoreh, Little Hermon - Nebi Dahi

Life form:  Annual, climber
Stems:  15-25 cm high; tendrils, stem not winged, glabrous
Leaves:  Alternate, entire, smooth
Inflorescence:  1-2-flowered, axillary raceme
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite, corolla, yellow
Fruits / pods:  Legume, glabrous
Flowering Period:  February, March, April
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:  Euro-Siberian - Med - Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Lathyrus aphaca, Aphaca vulgaris, Lathyrus segetum, yellow pea, yellow vetch, جلبان عفقة, טופח מצוי
Location: Givat-Hamoreh, Little Hermon - Nebi Dahi


Derivation of the botanical name:
Lathyrus, Greek lathyros, an old name for pea.
aphaca, a city of Mount Lebanon, celebrated for a temple of Venus, situated between Byblus and Heliopolis or Baalbec.
Aphaca is mentioned by Theophrastus, (Hist.Pl.I.viii.c.I); Pliny speaks of Aphaca as a wild plant (I.xxi.c.13); he also uses the words 'Amara aphace, (c.17).
vulgaris, common.
segetum, of the corn field(s).
The Hebrew name: טופח, tophakh, Lathyrus.
  • 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 Presl. is used to indicate Carl Borivoj Presl (1794 – 1852), a Bohemian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Lam. is used to indicate Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744 – 1829), a French botanist