If a clover plant produces a four-leaf clover, it's more likely to produce another four-leaf lucky charm than plants that only produce three-leaf clovers. The fourth leaf can be smaller or a different shade of green than the other three leaves Shamrocks and four-leaf clovers are not the same thing; the word 'shamrock' refers only to a clover with three leaves.
Comments 4 Add Comment. View Comments. December 17, I think every leaf on a 4 leaf clover must be exactly the same in size and Design before it will morph to good luck charms the clover I found changed from bright to dark. March 13, I have always been very lucky in finding 4 leaf clovers. It is said that I take after my Grandmother, both of us can be walking along and spy one in the clover patch.
I lost my Grandmother several years ago just before her th birthday. Managed Hosting by Grace at Work. New Trust in Tenon Policy. Ready to start planning your trip to Ireland? Our Travel Specialists are ready to help you find the perfect tour! Request a Quote. And while you're preparing for St. Patrick's Day, make these surprise balls filled with good-luck charms:. Laura Richards. By Laura Richards February 24, Save Pin More. Credit: Aaron Dyer. Why do some clovers have four leaves, anyway?
Like blond hair, blue eyes, and straight hair in humans, the four-leafed clover is a recessive trait in the white clover plant. That means that, for a stem to have four leaves, it must have inherited the recessive trait from both of its "parents. Given how much progress humanity has made identifying the effects of genes on our own makeup, you'd think it would be easy to figure out why some white clovers have three leaves and others four.
However, it's surprisingly difficult. Wired has a fascinating article about why the genetic makeup of clover is so weird. To start with, clover has twice as many chromosomes as humans and most other creatures. As Wired puts it:. While it's hard to narrow down which mutation causes some white clovers to sprout four leaves, scientists are starting to narrow it down.
Along the way, their research is yielding interesting information, such as what encourages more four-leafed mutations to occur. One of the things that scientists have discovered by studying the gene mutation that causes clovers to grow four leaves is that warm weather tends to encourage the lucky four-leaf mutation. If you're hoping to find yourself a lucky charm, searching in summertime or in warm climates can improve your odds. While you're anthropomorphizing lucky clover by making them lucky, you can also remind yourself that they like to hang out with their friends.
In other words, if you find one four-leaf clover, immediately look around for more. The reason isn't actually because clover is a social plant, but because if one plant has the lucky mutation, more of its stems might bear four leaves.
So if you're searching for clovers, multiply your luck by looking more intensely anywhere you find a single four-leafed clover. So what are your odds of " looking over a four-leafed clover ," as the song goes? Approximately one in 10, clover stems will have a four-leafed mutation. Now, that might sound daunting, but according to the Minitab Blog , it's actually not that much.
If you are in a field full of clover, you can find that many plants in a three-by-four-foot area. So you don't need a crazy number of plants to have good odds of finding lucky clovers. If you try to check 10, individual leaves to see if one of them is a lucky clover, you'll waste a lot of time and energy.
Luckily, there's a better way.
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