These plants may be mistaken for, or misleadingly sold as, "four-leaf clovers" because a species of Wood Sorrel with leaves resembling a four-leaf clover. The common Wood Sorrel is sometimes referred to as a shamrock (due to its three-leaf clover-like motif) and given as as gift on St. Patrick's Day. Don't be fooled by imposters.
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This is the original three-leaf clovers, a.k.a. White Clover. It is also called, Trifolium Repens. Four-leaf clovers come from this regular shamrock by being mutated for unknown reasons. As you can see, they look oval with white line aross on each leaf. The leaves also are close to the shape of heart. There are other cloverleaves, such as Trifolium Pratense, T. Medium, T. Campestre, Montanum, and T. Arvense.
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These are not the original Shamrocks. Black Medic, Medicago lupulina, at first glance appears to be a clover. Its is often found as a weed in in dry, sunny areas in turf and waste ground, but it can be a nuisance in gardens and fields as well. It can be an indication of low soil nitrogen in lawns as it outcompetes weak grass. Black medic and white clover grow in similar sites and are often found growing together. |
These clovers are native to Ireland with yellowish flowers. They are often considered the true or original shamrock. Nevertheless, these clovers are not original shamrocks but lookalikes. Do not let them deceive you because each leaf has the shape of the "heart."
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More often than not, these clovers are mistakenly considered authentic clovers. They are not genuine four-leaf clovers but are lookalikes. In order to be true clovers, the fourth one must be mutated. Nowadays people can take the easy route to finding "four leaf clovers." It is widely sold as the "good luck plant" because it bears the fourth leaf automatically. |
It is type genus of the Oxalidaceae and there are about 900 known species in the Oxalidaceae, 800 belong to Oxalis. However, plants from the Oxalis genus are not true clovers, only clover lookalikes.
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