Traditionally Irish

 

I don't know where I took this photo but clearly, it's a patch of weeds somewhere.  But, there's a clover.

Sadly, not a four-leaf clover.  It's a White Clover (Trifolium Repens). The genus name, Trifolium, derives from the Latin tres, "three", and folium, "leaf", so called from the characteristic form of the leaf, which almost always has three leaflets (trifoliolate); hence the popular name "trefoil".

It's also known as a Shamrock.  So it's close enough for a St. Patrick's Day post.

White Clover symbolizes hope, faith, love, and good fortune.  Four-leaf clovers represent good luck in Britain and the United States because it is considered a plant only grown in the Garden of Eden.  In some countries, the playing cards suit of clubs represents the lucky white clover.

I found this information on the wonderful World Wide Web:

The word shamrock comes from the Gaelic word Seamrog, meaning “little clover”.  Clover is the commonly used name for any number of plants belonging to the genus Trifolium, meaning “having three leaves.” Even among botanists, there is some disagreement on what species is the “true” shamrock, but most agree that the White Clover is probably the original shamrock of Irish symbolic heritage. While trying to convert the Irish into Christians, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the holy trinity with each leaf representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The three leaves of a shamrock are also said to stand for faith, hope, and love. A fourth leaf is where we get the luck from. The four-leafed clover, or “lucky clover”, is an uncommon variation of the three-leafed clover, and is widely considered to be a symbol of good luck. Because they are a mutation, they are rare, and not found in the same abundance as the shamrock, and thus, considered lucky.

The traditional Irish symbol of a shamrock does not include the fourth leaf.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!


PS:  Did you know St. Patrick was Italian?

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