What is a Four Leaf Clover?
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A four leaf clover refers to an aberration of a three leaf clover plant, the Trifolium repens or "white clover." The white clover is a deep green flowering vine with white blossoms. It is the original shamrock plant of Ireland and the unofficial state symbol. The shamrock already has powerful associations, and its occasional production of an extra leaf makes the rare four leaf clover especially lucky.
The three leaves of the white clover have become associated with the Christian Trinity, or God the Father, His Son, and The Holy Spirit. The extra leaf of the four leaf clover is said by some to stand for God's grace. A less dogmatic interpretation is that one leaf stands for faith, another for hope, the third for love and the last for luck.
One breeder of white clover, Yoke and Zoom, claim only about 1 in 10,000 plants will naturally mutate to produce a four leaf clover. They believe environmental stresses cause the mutation, and that a plant which mutates regularly is even rarer. However, through cloning, hydroponics and other methods, Yoke and Zoom claim to have increased the production of a four leaf clover on the Trifolium repens to 1 in 41 plants. Whether a purposely engineered four leaf clover would be considered as 'miraculous' is another matter. Yoke and Zoom reportedly pass on the clovers, sometimes leaving them for people to find in various places around London.
Many myths are associated with four leaf clovers. Finding one not only brings good luck, but in the Middle Ages, it was also thought to allow the bearer to see fairies and plant sprites. So it was that children often searched fields for a four leaf clover in order to see into the magical realm of the spirit world.
If hunting for a four leaf clover, don't be fooled by imposters. There are many clover plants that only bear four leaves. Pepperwort, also called Water Clover, and Oxalis are examples. Oxalis bears clover leaves that are narrow at the base with a reddish starburst center, while Pepperwort leaves resemble white clover in shape but are slightly rounder and a lighter shade of green. A genuinely rare, four leaf clover from Trifolium repens will usually have a smaller fourth leaf in comparison to the others on the stalk.
If you find a four leaf clover you can consider yourself very lucky indeed. When Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, legend has it that Eve was holding a four leaf clover. Curiously, the lore of the white clover plant is also associated with repelling snakes, though it didn't seem to work in the Garden of Eden!
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38
I found nine today as i walked through the park. - anon47335
37
i have over 1000 four and five leaf clovers. no lie.
- anon47164
36
i found 20 4-leaf and three 5-leaf and i'm only 12 and all in one patch in our yard! within 3 days! - anon41064
35
I have just found my first four leaf clover, in my garden while playing with my pet dog. i'm landed! might lose my job soon because of the recession, and my wife's car is on it's way out, so i hope it does bring us some luck! - anon41044
34
I have been finding 4 leaf clovers my whole life. Growing up, my parents' fridge was covered in them, some I pressed, some I stuck to cards. I have found over 3000 in my life all over the world in random places, never looked for them. We have been living in our new house over three months, and I have found 37 since being here, including 2 today while weeding! - anon39564
33
Has anyone heard of four leaf clovers being *bad* luck, or at least, as an omen of something bad that's going to happen soon? I've always found four (5,6,7 as well) with ease. But, as I got older, I realized that if I found a lot of 4+ leaf clovers at once, something bad usually happened to me afterwards. Or, maybe they protect me from something even worse? I don't know but after a couple of really bad personal events, I now avert my eyes around any clover patches! - anon39536
32
Iv'e been finding 4,5,6,7,8 leaf clover since I was a child. I survived pancreatic cancer, a pulmonary embolism, staph infection, and just recently got hired on with the state of oregon and was hired on friday the 13th, but I should add that I found a horseshoe too while hiking on the mountain. yes they are lucky. trust me. happy hunting! - anon38815
31
Finding a four leaf clover is a lot like fishing. It's a combination of luck and skill -- both have to be working to be most fruitful.
Four leaf clover is closest to a universal good luck charm. It is documented throughout many different cultures and religions. - webzard
30
Isn't it fun to find and pick them? My friends can't believe how often I am walking - anywhere - and spy them. Baseball games, at the park, or just out on a brisk walk. I've found several six-leafs, several five-leafs (including two this week), and hundreds upon hundreds of four-leafs. At any given time in the summer, I have a dish of them on my kitchen table. If I find them in my own yard, I tie curling ribbon around them so others can pick them. How much "luck" can one gal need anyway? The most I picked in one day this summer was 15, but I picked 9 the day before that. I've never found a 7 or a 9 leaf. What does thte sixth leaf mean? Seventh? etc.? Does anyone know? - anon38454
29
OOh!!! i may not be that lucky to find that many lucky leaf clovers but I did find one four leaf clover.
- anon37873
28
I was just walking around outside and found six four leaf clovers in the same small patch. Is there a different meaning or interpretation for finding many beside each other? - anon37609
27
So did anyone get lucky with their four leaf clover good luck charms? - anon36677
26
I am always trying to find a four leaf to give happiness and luck, but in my garden i only find 3 leaf. Where can i find a four leaf? - anon33862
24
i have found over at least 5,000... i think. i didn't count. you see, i've been able to find them from when i was in pre-school. i've found 2 8 leaf clovers in my life. i find four leafs, five leafs, six leafs. - anon32910
23
i have found in all about ??? (maybe 60+) 4 leaf, 5-6 5-leaf and 3 6-leaf! true!! - anon32827
22
dmj1 - if it's a true clover w/ more than 18 leaves, you've got a Guinness World Record holder on your hands. They've had unofficial claims go to 27 leaves on a single clover so if your 40+ leaf is true - it'd be real cool for all of us to see. - anon28497
21
Over the years I have found a great deal of 4, 5, 6, and 7 leaf clovers. Just today, St. Paddy's Day, I was on my lunch break at work and found over a dozen 4 leaf clovers and passed them around the office. The patch I picked them from has many more that I left for others to find. When I went back out to the patch of "good luck" clovers, I found a 6 leaf. I personally don't think the chances are as small as most would assume, but it could just be...the "luck o' the Irish". - anon28483
20
i have about 698 four leaf clovers and 90 four leaf shamrocks. i have found them all in about a week but, i have given a lot of them away as gifts. none of my friends have none, so i gave each of them a collection of their own. what's the world record of finding these? - anon27581
19
I have only recently found fresh (growing) four leaf clovers; up to now I did have a knack for finding antique four leaf clovers pressed between the pages of old, used or antique books... many still looking pretty green and nice (though very delicate) after having been pressed there for many years. Some were in first edition books from the late 1800's and early 1900's so I am guessing they are possibly 100 years old or so. I have found five this way. - anon26697
18
I've found a lot of four-leaf clovers, but some jerk stole two of them and is pretending that its hers! I've managed to get one of them back from her, but her other one is at home. All of the sudden, I've been having rotten luck and cant find any more. How come she doesn't get bad luck? - anon19838
17
ive never found one before =[ - anon19821
16
In my life time i have found most likely more than 500 for leaf clovers. They always go missing even after putting them in safe places and i say leprechauns stole them. Today i found three 6 leaf clovers and 3 5-leaf clovers. I doubt that only 1 in 10,000 plants have them since most plants i've seen have had at least 1. - anon19740
15
hey, i've always talked about wanting to find a 4 leaf clover, and went through a phase of trying to look for one. eventually i gave up - even after just saying "its impossible" i was walking by looked down and found one!No one i know of in person has ever found one before, and of course were all impressed with my find. 3 days later the same thing happened! i found another in a completely different place! (might i add both of these were found in/around patches of 3 leafs) and a month later i was casually walking by another area, glanced down in a 3 leaf patch and found a 5 leaf clover! after reading these other posts, i see that finding 4 and 5 leaf clovers is not too rare - but also that they seem to come in bulk in mutated patches... so for my own contentment i like to think finding my 3 in patches of 3 leafs might be a little bit more impressive =]
- anon19585
14
Hello today i was at school and i was at recess and i found a six leaf clover and about a year ago i found a for leafer can you tell me what i should with these beautiful treasures? - anon18797
13
For what it's worth, I found a patch of clover in front of the place I work and have picked 654 four-leafers from it this summer. - anon16139
12
Hello! I find about 20-30 4,5,6,and 7 leaf clovers daily on my way to the paper. Any one know whom has found the most multi leaved clovers to date? I have about 400 or so. The most leaves I have found is only 9. Some lucky guy from Japan has registered a 19 leaf clover as the World Record, So to the comment poster (dmj1) with 47- dang buddy, get it looked at. - Inua
11
ekornel, I found a patch like that just yesterday. My classes were out for the day and I wanted to enjoy some time outside, so I went four-leaf clover hunting. I found a patch by my dorm, and picked almost 40 (I haven't counted them yet) four-, five-, and six-leaf clover in less than 20 minutes, including several very large, beautiful ones. I would have stayed out longer and probably found more, but I needed to go in and study for a test. - anon12508
10
I have found a company that sells the trifolium repens plants that are discussed in this article. These plants produce more four leaf clovers than they would in nature. They even sometimes produce five and six leaf clovers. Their plants are grown in Irish Soil to give you true "Luck 'O the Irish".
- jkkuhns
9
i have found two six leaf clovers and several five leafed clovers as well as lots of four leafed clovers. about 80 all together although only 64 remain as some have been given away and sold. all but 3 were found in the same place which now has no more 'multi leafed clovers' left. - anon10324
8
For all you people who found 5 leaf clovers, you should know that is very bad luck if you find a 5 leaf clover. You must give it away and good luck will fall on both of you. P.S. If you give a 4 leaf clover away that is bad luck also. - anon5640
7
In my back garden i found a 10 leaf clover! i've found lots of 4, 5, and 6 ones and they all seem to grow in the same place. I was telling a friend who didn't believe me, so i showed him the area and within 2 minutes to our utter amazement we found a 47 leaf clover! it was just one big mass, anyway i carefully removed it from the ground and put it in the freezer. I'm wondering if this one is a world record. - dmj1
6
the legend says: one for hope, one for faith, one for love and one for luck. They say that the fifth is for money, I just found a 5 leaf and I keep it tucked in my wallet next to my ID and ATM card, so uh... I hope it's working! - anon4170
5
Hi,
I have found in my yard recently 2 six leaf clovers and 3 five leaf clovers. Does any one if these bring you good luck or the significance of these are? - anon4168
4
I have yet to find a six leaf clover and I imagine they are probably less than 1 in 100,000. I very much enjoy giving friends four-leafs. Yesterday I was at a backyard barbecue 1st birthday party for a close friend's first child. Several of us were strolling in the grass and I was looking down at a clover patch. They said it must be very hard to find four-leaf clovers as none of them had ever seen one. I looked down and saw one immediately and gave it to the birthday boys grandparents to press and laminate. Hopefully, it's especially good luck on his first birthday. - ekornel
3
Hi. I recently found a patch of white clover located at the front of my house by the road. Every day for the past two weeks I look down and find 2 or 3 four leaf clovers. I am usually not one to look for four leaf clovers and was really taken by being able to just look down without much time and find them. Now, every day when I go to retrieve the paper I look down to find four leaf clovers. I even give them to neighbors who happen to be outside at the time. I hope the luck stills extends to the people even though they did not find them by themselves. - anon2993
2
On Friday the 13th my young friend asked me how I manage to find four leaf clovers on a regular basis. I told her you simply have to look for them. I then looked down at a patch of clover in front of us in the grass around a pool in Brewster, MA and saw a five leaf clover (which I have found before on a couple of occasions.) My friend then looked down and found a four leaf clover and then I looked more closely at the patch and interspersed among the three-leafs we found and picked 43 four leaf clovers and 4 five leaf clovers. Has anyone found a patch of this size before that was not cloned or otherwise engineered? - ekornel
1
We have a lot of clover on our property and I sometimes look for the lucky 4 leaf ones. I almost always find one or two while the others with me find none. Today I found two 4 leaf clovers and one SIX leaf clover. At first I though it was two clovers stuck together but it wasn't. I have heard of 9 leaf clovers but was wondering how uncommon a six leaf clover is. - anon1055
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Written by
R. Kayne
Last Modified: 04 October 2009
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