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Those of us content to find only one lucky four-leaf clover may be nonplussed by another Guinness record, registered by year-old Katie Borka of Spotsylvania, Virginia, who found in the space of one hour; a likely US Powerball winner, perhaps. Our native white clover, Trifolium repens, and red clover, Trifolium pratense, widely planted in British fields and carried to other continents by colonisation, are but two in the global list of members of the Fabaceae or pea family. Here, we may also see the so-called Swedish clover T.
Few folk perceive them. Elsewhere in the world, other clover species have garnered a variety of colloquial and rather bewildering names, such as foothill, forest, subterranean, tomcat, cow, buffalo, bull, knotted, notchleaf, bearded, cup, clammy, fewflower, sulphur, whitetip, woollyhead and thimble. English folk names included honeystalker or honeysuckle, from the old practice by rural children of sucking the flowers to taste the nectar produced within their 30 to 60 florets.
Preferred by bees and especially bumblebees, white clover deterred witches and, when rubbed on weapons before battle, was thought to render them infallible. It also carried considerable folk value in Wales, where it warded off evil spirits, deflected madness when gathered in a gloved hand and epitomised beauty — in Arthurian legend, Princess Olwen left a trail of white clover wherever she went.
It had great medicinal value, too. Pliny recommended it for poisonous bites and the ancient Chinese prescription for whooping cough survived into medieval Europe and crossed the Atlantic with Dutch settlers. Traditionally, it served as a diuretic, expectorant, blood purifier, antibiotic, appetite suppressant, relaxant and a treatment for cancer, heart and lung problems. Infused in warm water, it was an aphrodisiac.
Freckles were banished from a face washed with red clover in dawn dew and, added to bath water, it aided financial decisions. Few such nostrums are credible, but modern analysis has identified vitamins B and C, plus phytoestrogens, judged to be relevant in treating menopausal and prostate problems. Alfa Romeo sports the four-leaf quadrifoglio as a model and brand badge.
Sundry businesses large and small endeavour to associate themselves with good fortune with clover-leaf logos. The clover had apparently done its work [source: Miltner ]. Nearly as interesting as the happy outcome of this story is the fact that Sandra had a spare four-leaf clover on hand. It was no accident — she collected them. In fact, she had so many she made a habit of giving them away. In this, she's not as unusual as you might think: The Guinness World Record for the largest collection of four-leaf clovers goes to one Edward Martin of Cooper Landing, Alaska, who has amassed more than , of them [source: Guinness World Records ].
That's truly astounding when you consider the fact that your chances of finding a four-leaf clover are one in 10,! Everybody knows that four-leaf clovers are supposed to bring good luck, and clearly some people really want to pile it on — but just what is it that makes them so lucky? As is often the case, it all goes back to Eve.
Legend has it that as she and Adam were being hustled out of the Garden of Eden, she plucked a four-leaf clover to carry with her as a souvenir of Paradise [source: Elmerhebe ]. The druids of the ancient Celtic world wouldn't have known Eve from Adam, as it were, but they too were big fans of four-leaf clovers and carried them around to ward off malevolent spirits [source: Ventura ]. This practice evolved into a medieval theory that a four-leaf clover would give you the ability to spot fairies and take evasive action if necessary.
As a result, back in the Middle Ages , kids entertained themselves by ferreting out the necessary stems and heading out for a fairy-hunt. Obviously, that's a video game just waiting to happen! With the little green plants enjoying such popularity, it's no wonder St. Patrick decided to use them as a teaching tool when he set about converting Ireland to Christianity. The four-leaf variety being in short supply, he settled on the ubiquitous three-leaf clovers to explain the three-in-one nature of the Holy Trinity to the heathens.
One leaf stood for the Father, one for the Son and the third for the Holy Spirit, all united on the single stem of the Godhead. Similarly, a poem in the popular tradition holds that the four leaves on the lucky clover signify fame, wealth, health and faithful love.
Along these lines, the English have a tradition that if you dream of clover, you're guaranteed a happy and prosperous marriage [source: Faust ]. West of England, in Cornwall, some people alleged that if pixies stole your child and left a changeling in its place, the only way to get your own offspring back was to lay a four-leaf clover on the impostor [source: Evans-Wentz ]. So we've established that four-leaf clovers have been considered powerfully lucky for a very long time, but why?
You know that saying about not seeing the forest for the trees? The same rule applies here. The experts say don't waste your time pawing through clumps of clover. Your best bet is to visually stake out an area the size of a typical office desk about a square meter or yard and quickly scan it.
If anything out of the ordinary snags your attention, look at that spot more closely to see what it was. If not, move on to your next square and scan again. Remember, your chances are one in 10,, so you've got to be efficient about this! Clover is a type of pea and is valued by farmers for a couple of reasons: Cows like to fill their faces with it; bees like to fill up on its nectar and the plant itself likes to fill its boots with nitrogen.
That's to say, clover is very good at pulling nitrogen from the air and rooting it in the ground for other plants to eat.
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