Luck 'O The Irish Friday 24 April, 2009. St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

The Four Leaf Clover is not a myth!


Today I finally found one! Well , actually it was last Tuesday, and again, I needed the assistance of another person to point it out to me....Like it happened this way...


[ Captured by Markus - a Four Leaf Clover ,one 'lucky' day in Autumn 2009]


The previous week I did a search of my property, both the front and back yards( as we call our sections here in New Zealand) for these supposedly elusive green rarities...

The result being, that I actually found what I thought was a poor apology for a Four Leaf Clover, because what appeared to be that fourth leaf was really only a stunted deformed appendage...so I really didn't feel any sense of jubilation at the find...until last Tuesday.


And it was pointed out to me by Markus, a German tourist who was staying with us for a couple of days, who by the way, should you ever meet him is a most useful and ingenius man for doing those small annoying jobs like replacing electrical fittings, and things of that nature...and spotting four leaf clovers!


We, both got out our respective cameras and recorded the specimen for posterity sake, the results of which we hereby present for your perusal, and our modest boasting ,to be one of the 'lucky few' to have found one of these rarities or mutants(? ) of nature.


A little research revealed a few facts , which should answer a few questions concerning four leafed clovers ...

The Four Leaf Clover belongs to the genus Trifolium, and the species repens, that is, "white clover". They belong to the pea family (Leguminosae).


[ Four Leaf Clover standing out amongst its regular three- leafed family members-from another angle]

There are apparently 23 species of Trifolium...like Red Clover, Strawberry Clover, Subterranean Clover and so on.. [ let's call that useless information, which one day just might prove useful...one can never tell!]


It is also the original shamrock of Ireland and the unofficial state symbol.

Apparently, the chances of finding a Four Leaf Clover are one in ten thousand ( 1: 10,000) ...so that means you have to look through a few fields of clover to have any chance of finding one!... Well, actually, if you are 'lucky' you probably have that number or more in your own garden. You just have to be lucky or Irish maybe.....and a bit of spare time to wander over your own garden, just looking!

The three leaves of Trifolium repens, "white clover', have been associated with the Blessed Trinity, that is, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.

Ah, now you see...What have Four Leaf Clovers to do with my Blogsite.?..there you go, that should be enough reason...


And, that extra fourth leaf is meant to stand for God's Grace....that's nice...


A less dogmatic interpretation is that one leaf is for Faith, the second for hope, the third for love and the Fourth for luck.

[ another pose of me - I think I like the second one best...I was feeling a little off color when they took this one, and besides ,I wasn't focusing as well as I should ,on what I was meant to be doing, whatever that was...maybe a little photosynthesizing? He,he,he.]

Well, that's pretty much the extent of my reserch into these rare mutations of nature, unless they happen to be something else...one other thing, apparently people have found five leaf, six leaf and even seven leaf forms...interesting...and besides I have to get onto Part Two of the Miraculous Medal....so....

-more pretty pictures to be added-do I add a fourth one? Yes

[ Markus - the German who discovered rare form of Trifolium repens -White Clover, in New Zealand suburban garden one 'lucky' Autumn/Fall day in 2009; he can rightly wear a smug grin as he sits at his appropriately colored computer desk, in his apparently never ending search for the elusive, green, lucky, little blighters!]