Depending on the weather this March this article may be slightly before its time, but I could not say no to a friend who really wanted to know about their ‘luck’ of finding four-leaf clovers in time for St. Patrick’s day. It may be a ‘four’-lorn endeavour but not entirely impossible in this area.
The shamrock itself is a sham in that it does not exist, it is a common word to describe one of several different plant species. Our equivalent of the shamrock is the introduced red clover, white clover or the hybridized Alsike clover. These introduced species are easily recognized by their three round-oval leaflets (trifoliate) that look very similar to the shamrocks that will be popping up in store windows. The clover was introduced from Europe as the plants were excellent cover crop as the clover can fix nitrogen in the soil, this can reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers. It was also originally useful as green lawn cover and was put in lawn grass seed mixes as it would grow better in less fertile soil than grass. As time went on it fell out of favour with the public and became known as a weed.
However, weed is in the eye of the beholder. The clover is a perennial and is one of the first plants to come back in spring. This is of benefit to many hungry pollinators. The flowers of the clover appear as pink or white or a mix of both colours and are quite small, but they grow in clusters which make them look like those beautiful orbs we are used to seeing from a distance. They are an important flower for pollinators in the spring and forage for herbivores as they appear so early. The petals are also edible if you want to add some flowery hints to your cooking. Or if you are staring out at you lawn of clover and feeling as ambitious as I once did, can even be made into wine.
Now how do four leaf clovers come into the mix? You are essential looking for a mutant. Rarely, when the clover grows in the right environmental conditions or has a certain recessive gene, the clover will have four leaflets instead of three. Sometimes even five or six leaflets can occur, the more leaflets the rarer the plant. This rarity has helped shape the belief that finding a four- leaf clover will bring you luck. As someone who has found a few in my lifetime I can tell you that if you find one you should definitely take the time to examine the other clovers around it. Given the genetics and environmental conditions are similar you are more likely to find another close by, as in the photo. I recommend that if you find a four-leaf clover consider taking a photo instead of picking it. The saying is that finding a four-leaf clover is lucky, and that passing it on doubles your luck. All superstitions aside, letting the four-leaf clover live helps it pass on its genetics to the next generation, which I think the clover will agree is lucky indeed, and increases the chance that the next wanderer ‘march’ing through the area will share your luck.
