11 (Interesting) Facts About Four Leaf Clovers

If you want to be prepared for your next clover hunt, check out this list of 11 things to know about lucky clovers.

And besides, how many do you already know?

1: Many clover-like plants have 4 leaves, but are not lucky clovers

4-leaf clovers are among the most popular lucky charms. With any luck, you can find them in almost any garden.

Hunting them is quite easy, even children can try it... but finding them remains exceptional enough that adults won't get bored either!

Lucky clovers are a variety of white 4-leaf clover, also called Trifolium repen s. “Trifolium” literally means three leaves. So we already understand the uniqueness of finding ones that have 4. Many other plants, including pepper, water clover and oxalis, are marketed as lucky clovers, in because of their strong resemblance.

Although they are not truly lucky, they can easily be used as decoration. One way to make sure you have a real 4-leaf clover is to check if all the leaves are the same size.

If so, you're out of luck. True clovers have three leaves that are all the same size, and one slightly smaller.

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2: Why do 4-leaf clovers bring luck?

There are many theories about the origin of the legend of the 4-leaf clover. Some legends say they are meant to represent faith, hope, love and luck.

Others say that those with 4-leaf clovers have the power to see fairies. Another story tells us that St. Patrick used a 4-leaf clover to explain the principles of Christianity to the Irish, and thus convert them. Of course, it is also possible that the 4-leaf clover symbolizes luck simply because it is, to say the least, rare to find one.

If you also want yours, go no further and discover our collection of 4-leaf clover now.

3: Not all clovers are 4-leaf clovers

We all know the place of luck in Irish culture. On St. Patrick's Day, we can indeed see many elves with shamrocks. It's easy to get lost.

For good reason, many of these are not true 4-leaf clovers. These clovers are your "standard" 3 leaf species. They are associated with Ireland because of the legend that St. Patrick used shamrocks to illustrate that God could be one entity, and three at once. Some people claim that the 4-leaf clover adds God's grace to the metaphor of the Holy Trinity. In any case, unfortunately these are only references to 3-leaf clovers.

4: Is the fourth leaf caused by a genetic mutation? Probably.

And first of all, why do we sometimes find a 4-leaf clover at the bend of a path? Like blond hair, blue eyes, or even straight hair in humans, 4-leaf clover is a recessive trait in the Trifolium repens species.

This means that for a stem to have 4 leaves, it must have inherited the recessive gene from both of its "parents".

5: But finding that exact genetic mutation is surprisingly difficult

So, given the progress humanity has made on sequencing our own genome, you would think it would be easy to understand why some white clovers have 3 leaves and others 4.

This actually turns out to be surprisingly difficult. For starters, clover has twice as many chromosomes as humans and most other creatures.

According to Australian scientific experts:

"... white clover contains twice as many chromosomes as humans, mangoes, and most other organisms...each pair of chromosomes in white clover comes from a different species."

Although it is very difficult to determine exactly which gene mutation causes 4 leaves to appear on our clover, scientists are beginning to clarify the question.

Their research brings us interesting information, but despite everything the mystery remains.

6: Some of them like it hot

Scientists have discovered an astonishing thing while studying the mutation of the gene responsible for the development of a fourth leaf on clover.

Hot weather would tend to encourage this mutation into 4-leaf clover. If you're hoping to find yourself a lucky charm, searching in summer or warm climates may improve your chances.

If, on the other hand, it's your outfit that you want to warm up, this elegant "4-leaf clover" bracelet will catch the eye of more than one person.

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7: 4-leaf clovers love company

Comparing ourselves to the 4-leaf clover, we could say that they like spending time with friends... and that's the case!

In other words, if you find a 4-leaf clover, immediately look around for others. It's not really that clover is a sociable plant. On the other hand, if a plant carries the mutation, several of its stems could have 4 leaves. So if you're looking for clovers, multiply your chances by looking more intensively wherever you find a 4-leaf clover.

If you like Brittany, here is a forest where we went hiking and where we found this kind of bed of 4-leaf clover.

8: Hunting for 4-leaf clover can be long... but not too long either

So what are your chances of finding a 4-leaf clover?

About one in 10,000 clover stems will carry the mutation. This may seem daunting at first, but you will find that often a single clover plant will cover a relatively large rectangular area.

So you don't need to cover a huge amount of area to find your lucky clovers.

9: The scientific method, to find more 4-leaf clovers

If you try to check 10,000 plants individually to see if any of them are 4-leaf clover, you will waste a lot of time and energy. Fortunately, there is a better way. Let your eyes scan a limited area (a desk-sized area works well).

Don't try to look for individual leaves, just try to see if anything looks different from other surrounding clovers. If this doesn't work for you right away, try using your shoe to gently brush the clovers, and see if turning the plants at a slightly different angle gives you a better perspective.

10: Some clovers can have more than 4 leaves!

The mutation that causes more leaves to grow in some white clover plants most often leads to 4-leaf clover.

But sometimes you end up with even more leaves, which is supposed to bring even more luck.

Indeed, the luckiest among us will sometimes have found clovers with 5 or even 6 leaves ! But even six sheets is just the start. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Japanese Shigeo Obara discovered the white clover with the greatest number of leaves. In 2009, he actually found a white clover with 56 leaflets !