Thefour-leaf clover is a rare mutation of the common three-leafclover that has fourleaflets instead of three. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring goodluck,[1] a belief that dates back to at least the 17th century.[a]
A 2017 survey of approximately 5.7 million clovers in six European countries found the frequency of 4-leaf clovers to be around 5000 to 1 (one 4-leaf clover for every 5076 normal 3-leaf clovers), almost twice the commonly stated probability of 10,000 to 1. According to this survey, the frequency of a 5-leaf clover is 24,390 to 1, and that of a 6-leaf clover is 312,500 to 1.[3]
A pressed-dried six-leaf clover from the species Trifolium repens L.
According toGuinness World Records, the clover with the most leaflets ever found had 63 of them, and was discovered by Yoshiharu Watanabe ofNasushiobara city,Tochigi prefecture,Japan, on 2 August 2023. The clover was from thespeciesTrifolium repens L., or the white clover;[4] beating the previous record, a 56-leaf clover (of the same species) found by Shigeo Obara ofHanamaki city,Iwate prefecture, Japan, on 10 May 2009.[5][6] Both men obtained clovers with such a number of leafleats throughcrossbreeding clover plants with a high rate of clovers with an abnormal number of leaflets, causing that, on average, cloverplants generated clovers with a higher and higher number of leaflets in each generation. Shigeo Obara used the method of natural crossbreeding, while Yoshiharu Watanabe used both natural crossbreeding and manual crossbreeding.[7][8]
In 2019, American Gabriella Gerhardt set the record for collecting the most 4-leaf clovers in one hour by an individual (451). Previously, in 2018, she set the record for finding the most 4-leaf clovers in eight hours by an individual (887). On January 1, 2023, she certified two more records: the largest collection of 6-leaf clovers (1,437, surpassing the previous record of 43) and the largest collection of 7-leaf clovers (209, surpassing the previous record of 17). In 2023, she broke the record for the largest collection of 4-leaf clovers with 118,791, exceeding the previous record of 111,060 held by American Edward Martin.[9] In total Gabriella Gerhardt holds five Guinness World Records.[10][11][12][13][14]
As stated, clovers can have more than four leaflets. 5-leaf clovers are less commonly found naturally than 4-leaf clovers;[15][16] however, they too have been successfully cultivated.[17] Some 4-leaf clover collectors, particularly in Ireland, regard the 5-leaf clover, known as a rose clover, as a particular prize.[18]
A 4-leaf clover amongst others with three leaflets
It is debated whether the fourth leaflet is caused genetically or environmentally. Its relative rarity (1 in ~5,000 clovers[3]) suggests a possiblerecessive gene appearing at a low frequency. Alternatively, four-leaf clovers could be caused bysomatic mutation or a developmental error of environmental causes. They could also be caused by the interaction of several genes that happen to segregate in the individual plant. It is possible all four explanations could apply to individual cases. This means that multiple four-leaf clovers could be found in the same cloverplant, and a cloverplant that already has a clover with an abnormal number of leaflets has a higher chance of growing or having another abnormal clover than a cloverplant that doesn't have any.[19]
Researchers from the University of Georgia have reported finding the gene that turns ordinary three-leaf clovers into the coveted four-leaf types. Masked by the three-leaf gene and strongly influenced by environmental conditions, molecular markers now make it possible to detect the presence of the gene for four-leaves and for breeders to work with it. The results of the study, which also located two other leaf traits in the white-clover genome, were reported in the July/August 2010 edition ofCrop Science, published by the Crop Science Society of America.[20]
The other leaf traits, the red fleck mark and red midrib, a herringbone pattern that streaks down the center of each leaflet in a bold red color, were mapped to nearby locations, resolving a century-old question as to whether these leaf traits were controlled by one gene or two separate genes. White clover has many genes that affect leaflet color and shape, and the three in the study were very rare. These traits can be quite attractive, particularly if combined with others, and can turn clover into an ornamental plant for use in flower beds.[21]
A 5-leaf clover from the species Trifolium repens. Notice the slightlyreddish or rusty coloration of the leaf.
According to an experiment made in 2019 by the, at that moment, 17-year old Minori Mori, fromTsukuba, Japan, four-leaf clovers seem to be more likely to appear in well-fertilized soil.Phosphates (a common ingredient in fertilizers) have been proved to play a role in the frequency of development of four-leaf clovers in cloverplants. A plant hormone calledauxin, which plays an important role inplant development, has also been shown to increase the probability of mutations in clovers, especially the development of clovers with more than four leaflets. One study reportedly achieved clovers with five to eight leaflets (within a ten day span) using double of the regular dose of phosphate fertilizer and seeds from a cultivar that produces clovers with four leaflets more frequently. Auxin was also given to the plants with their water, with a concentration of 0.7%.[22]
There are reports of farms in the US which specialize in four-leaf clovers, producing as many as 10,000 a day (to be sealed in plastic as "lucky charms") by introducing agenetically engineered ingredient to the plants to encourage the aberration (there are, however, widely availablecultivars that regularly produce leaves with multiple leaflets – see below).[23]
There are some cultivars of white clover (Trifolium repens) which regularly produce more than three leaflets, including purple-leavedT. repens "Purpurascens Quadrifolium" and green-leavedT. repens "Quadrifolium".[24]
Some clovers have more spade-shaped leaves, rather than the usual rounded ones. This may be a genetic mutation. Some other genetic mutations in clovers include a rusty color on the leaves.Trifolium repens "Good Luck" is a cultivar which has three, four, or five green, dark-centered leaflets per leaf.[25]
Other plants may be mistaken for, or misleadingly sold as, "4-leaf clovers"; for example,Oxalis tetraphylla is a species ofwood sorrel with leaves resembling a 4-leaf clover.[26][27] Other species that have been sold as "4-leaf clovers" includeMarsilea quadrifolia.[28][29]
A description from 1869 says that 4-leaf clovers were "gathered at night-time during the full moon by sorceresses, who mixed it withvervain and other ingredients, while young girls in search of a token of perfect happiness made quest of the plant by day."[30] In an 1877 letter toSt.Nicholas Magazine, an 11-year-old girl wrote, "Did the fairies ever whisper in your ear, that a 4-leaf clover brought good luck to the finder?"[31]
4-leaf clover pictured in the coat of arms ofLääne-Nigula ParishThe 4-leaf clover is used as a symbol by multiple agrarian political parties in Northern and Eastern Europe
Italian automobile makerAlfa Romeo uses aquadrifoglio (4-leaf clover) icon to delineate its racing cars and performance-oriented road models. This tradition started in the 1923Targa Florio race, when driverUgo Sivocci decorated his car with a green clover on a white background.[32][33][34] As of 2022, thequadrifoglio is used on the company's race liveries.[35]
American space exploration companySpaceX includes a 4-leaf clover on each space missionembroidered patch as a good luck charm. Inclusion of the clover has become a regular icon on SpaceX's flight patches ever since the company's first successful Falcon 1 rocket launch in 2008, which was the first mission to feature a clover "for luck" on its patch.[36]
Several businesses and organizations use a 4-leaf clover in their logos to signify Celtic origins.[37][38]
The global network of youth organizations4-H uses a green 4-leaf clover with a white H on each leaf.[39]
The logo of theNew Jersey Lottery features an outline of the state in white on a green 4-leaf clover printed on a lottery draw machine ball.
The imageboard4chan features a 4-leaf clover in its logo as a nod to its predecessor, the Japanese siteFutaba Channel (2chan), whose name means two leaves, leading 4chan to be referred to in Japan as yotsuba, meaning four leaves.
Some folk traditions assign a different attribute to each leaflet of a clover. The leaves have been used by Christians to represent hope, faith, love and luck.[41] Others say that 4-leaf clovers granted the power to see fairies.[42][43]
^One of the earliest recorded instances isSir John Melton's 1620 playAstologaster, where Melton states in a list of superstitious beliefs and rituals "that if a man walking in the fields, finde any foure-leaued grasse, he shall in a small while after finde some good thing."[2]
^Harry Oliver (2010).Black Cats & 4-leaf Clovers: The Origins of Old Wives' Tales and Superstitions in Our Everyday Lives (reprint ed.). Penguin.ISBN9781101442814.
^Masters MT. 1869.Vegetable Teratology, An Account of the Principal Deviations from the Usual Construction of Plants. Robert Hardwicke Publisher, London, P 356.
^Child, Madge. 1877. In a letter titled "Four-Leaved Clovers," (St. Nicholas; an Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks), Volume 4, pp. 634-5, in the subsection of letters called "Jack-in-the-Pulpit", July 1877.
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