Hippie Dippy Banter: Wanderlust, Wish-list to Reality

 

 

The Four Leaf Clover

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to chat a minute about clovers! Something we, usually associate with St. Paddy's Day! Did you know that the four leaf clover wasn't always associated with St. Patrick's Day? It wasn't really until the 20th century that it, amongst other things became a symbol of "everything Irish".

The four leaf clover is a rare variant of the Shamrock, or three leaf clover. Known to be a bringer of good luck, especially when found by chance.The druids are the ones that are known for carrying them,  as they believed that they were charmed to protect against evil spirits and gave sight to see the fairies. They also carried the three leaf clover as it was a sacred triad of the earth, sea, and sky.

The four leaf clover represents faith, hope, love, and luck. Others think it to symbolize the 4 elements: fire, earth, water, and air.

It is very rare to find a four leaf clover for science reasons! Meaning, clovers have four copies of each chromosome per cell. The gene for the four leaf clover is recessive and can only occur when it is in all four chromosomes. Environmental conditions also have an impact.

From my research I found a survey from 2017 that one in 5,000 clovers are four leafed. I found it also interesting that they are generally found in clusters. I wonder if the terroir that they are found in has something to do with it as well?

So, how did this little plant become such an icon? There are two theories or legends for this. In the 5th century the king asked St. Patrick to explain the trinity and he used a "shamrock" to do so. The second reason or legend was earlier than the 5th century, from the Celtic druids. They considered three as a mystical number and since this little plant has three leaves, it was a sacred plant to them.

Did you know that the harp is actually Ireland's symbol?

In the past the Shamrock was actually three different plants. The clover, the wood sorrel, and the medick. It was this way until botanists explored and tracked the differences of these plants. It is also an interesting note that I found in my research that the four leaf clover should never be called a shamrock.

The clover, the white clover, is a perennial plant that belongs to the bean family, Fabaceous. There is also a red clover. The medick is part of the pea family, related to the alfalfa. I found it interesting that the genus Medicago (bur clovers) are closely related to the true clovers and sweet clovers.

What is/are the true clovers? Let us know what you find from going down your own rabbit holes!

Resource & Gems:

https://www.gardendesign.com/holiday/shamrock.html

https:www.gardendesign.com/plants/oxalis.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifolium_repens

https:mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/white-clover

https://www.backwoodshome.com/clover 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicago_lupulina