A Clover by Any Other Name

My daughter Skye found two Five Leaf Clover in our back yard today. Not one, but two of them growing side by side on the same cluster of Clover. I've never found anything but the usual three leaves every time I've ended up near a Clover plant and took the time to look. In one quick glance down, Skye happened upon two of the rare deformities. Needless to say it started me thinking.

To begin with when I was younger there would not have been a "weed" of any kind allowed to grow in our grass, so the chances of me finding any Clover at all would have been very slim. My Dad was a real stickler about weed killer and fertillizer. My how times have changed. Now we're more concerned with what type of chemicals are getting into our ground water and sewer system so we try to use environmentally kind weed control.

Aside from the whole environmental issue the scientic name for Clover is Trifolium and it belongs to the same family as the Irish Shamrock. The ones we actually purchase special from the florist in the beginning of March! The Shamrock is a particular variety of Trifolium.

Trifolium is a Latin word that very literally means three leafed.  There are about three hundred different species of Trifolium, including Clover and Shamrock. Some of the other names it's known by are Honey, Honeystalks, Shamrock, Three-Leafed Grass, Trefoil and Trifoil.

Most people know the lore of a four-leafed clover supposedly bringing good luck, however that's not the only magic surrounding this legendary plant. Some of it's powers include protection, money, love, fidelity, exorcism and success.

Two-Leaved - you shall soon find a lover.

Three-Leaved - worn for protection

Four-Leaved - protects against madness, strengthens psychic abilities, enables you to detect the presense of ghosts and leads the wearer to money, gold or treasure.

Five-Leaved - powerful for attracting money

White Clover worn or scattered around protects against hexes. Red Clover aids in dealing with financial matters and removes negative spirits. Clover in general is believed to keep snakes away if grown on your property. One more fact against the tale of Saint Patrick's ridding Ireland of snakes. Where there are Shamrocks there would not have been snakes to begin with. Of course many feel it was the Driuds he was talking about not the reptiles.

Clover has many uses in agriculture and Livestock raising, including feed, fertilizer and soil restoration. It's easily grown as ground cover and comes back even when mowed repeatedly and is very imortant in the production of Honey. The next time you spot a clump of clover in your garden, look it over a bit closer. You never know what you might find.