Rooted Episode 11: Shamrocks

Botanical Illustration of a clover detailing the leaves, flowers, seeds, and stems

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of rooted! This week we are diving into shamrocks in honor of saint patrick's day! Before we can dive into the science and plant facts, we have to clear some things up. First, there isn't actually a true consensus on what a shamrock *Actually* is, since the word itself originated from the term “Seamóg“ which roughly translates to “young clover”

With that in mind, scientists underwent a literal century long endeavor to find out what the TRUE shamrock would be. The most noted way they did this was by asking the public in ireland to literally mail in a sample of the plant THEY considered to be a shamrock, and here is what they found:

Trifolium dubium

Lesser clover

51%

46%

Trifolium repens

White clover

34%

35%

Trifolium pratense

Red clover

6%

4%

So for today’s episode we will just be discussing some of the general traits of these plants, as they are all part of the same family, and are extremely similar.

But before we dive into all that- we have one more thing to clear up! Here in the US, and in many other parts of the world, the houseplant we call shamrocks is actually a variety of oxalis- specifically the woodland sorrel, that can be green, purple, or even a mix of the two! They have adorable little flowers, and can have 3 or 4 leaves..and while they are adorable and festive, they are not widely accepted as the “true” shamrock, so we won’t be talking about those little bundles of floral deceit today.

Generally shamrocks or clovers are part of the Legume family which I did warn you we would be talking about A LOT, since it is a large and popular family, with a lot of plants that are closely tied to spring! As a member of the legume family, they do a lot of the same things as beans and peas, especially when it comes to regenerating the soil!

Clovers are generally small annuals or biannuals characterized as being short, with three or four leaves. They are typically very short, and grow in large, sprawling clumps, which makes them a good ground cover, and an increasingly popular choice for lawn replacement and cover crops!

Their flowers are like little tufts, with small sort of tubular individual flowers that come together to create a round, large looking bloom. Many people will often pick the individual blooms off of the flower and bite the ends, as they have a very sweet almost honey- like and floral taste.

They are a very important food source for many different species of wildlife, including bears, birds, and others! They are also an important plant for bumble and honey bees, which in turn help the clover to reseed efficiently!

They are native to most of Europe, but have spread nearly worldwide because they are so tolerant and effective at amending the soil. They really aren't picky about much, but do need to be kept in consistently moist soil, and do not do well in harsh, dry environments without additional watering.

The vast majority of clovers have only 3 leaves, with 4 leaf clovers being extremely rare. They are actually a genetic defect in the plant, but recently they have become more common due to attempts to stabilize the gene to make them more widely available.

But how did they come to symbolize luck? And where do the fairy folktales come in for this guy? Well, to understand that, we are going to have to go WAAY back in irish history…so grab your tweed and let’s dig in..

Okay, so here’s the deal- four leaf clovers are obviously rare and it is the rareness of them that makes them EXTRA lucky. Regular clovers are also lucky, and we will dive into that, but for now- just now that clovers are all important, but 4 leaf clovers are extra special

So, because of their extra-specialness, it only makes sense that they would be extra powerful. Particularly when it comes to an irish folk-favorite- FAIRIES

So for those who aren't super familiar with the Irish rendition of fairies, they were essentially little sprites! They most often present themselves to humans in a way that is very similar to us, but fairies are not the sweet little innocent guys we know today. Back then they were tricksters. They would often help people, but were honestly just as likely to cause harm or pull pranks, so they weren’t really something most people wanted to mess with, unless they really needed help.

BUT, while the relationship with fairies was complicated, it gets even more messy when you learn about the fact that sometimes humans were actually invited in to the fairy realm (or taken depending on the story) and sometimes even helped to raise fairies.

When they did so, it was often understood that they would need to run an ointment on the fairy child, as at birth they were more human-like, and therefore susceptible to human illness/ death….so, at a certain point humans would need to rub this ointment into the baby's eyes.

But SOMETIMES they would get this ointment into their own eyes and then they would be able to see through the fairies spells, and into the real fairy realm, which is reportedly even scarier than they made it in true blood, so altogether just NOT a fun place

And what was the ointment made of you might ask? Well, we can’t know for sure, but apparently it was a bright green….and it just so happens that when you distill the leaves of a clover down into what you would use for an ointment, it can be pretty green….couple that with the sheer number of times it comes up as an attracting plant for fairies and well….it makes sense

And it is because of these stories with the ointment that it was generalized that ANYONE who happened to stumble upon these four leafed friends would be given the gift to see fairies, which was a blessing (because they couldn't prank you or steal your friends) AND a curse (because you have to see their horrific true form). Okay, so now that we understand the folklore around 4 leaf clovers, let's talk a little bit more about their 3 leafed- brethren.

The story goes that 3 leaf clovers are also lucky, mostly because they helped early irish druids to see and ward off evil. This belief is ultimately what led to the shamrock being a symbol closely tied to ireland.

It was due to this belief that couples getting married would often add clover into their wedding flowers, hoping to bring good fortune and ward off negative energy in their marriages. But it didn’t just keep evil at bay, apparently snakes hated it too- in fact, there is an old irish saying “Anywhere a trefoil grows, snakes must not go”- so that’s part of why Ireland has no snakes…that and St. Patrick, But who is saint patrick, and why are people dying a whole river green in his honor this weekend?

Well, according to legend, St. Patrick started out as just patrick. And as a young lad, Patrick was taken away from his swanky life in England by a group of Irish pirates who took him to Ireland, where he was kept as a slave. And it was during those years that he studied christianity and grew into his christian faith.. And one day he heard A small voice tell him that he would be going home soon. And sure enough, within a week he was able to escape and find a ship captain who would take him home

But, unfortunately for Patrick, he didn't have any clovers, and as luck would have it the ship crashed..Patrick lost his faith, until he decided at one particularly low point to pray for food, and suddenly a pack of wild boars just appeared. Upon seeing that, a lot of the other ship members also started believing in christianity. That really sparked Patrick's interest, so he decided he would dedicate his life to being a missionary. Eventually he returned to Ireland, where most people will still worship their gods and practice the traditions they had for centuries.

Patrick saw the clover as his way in- people already held it in high regard, so he just needed to find a way to tie it in to christianity-and That’s when he got the idea to use the 3 leaves to represent the holy trinity- father, son and holy spirit. And with that, he was able to explain and incorporate many irish traditions into christianity, helping him to spread the word, and his beliefs, through the country. As he was doing this, he often would fast to show his love and devotion to god, and prove that god would provide. But, on one of his fasts, legend has it that snakes came to distract patrick, so he banished them all into the sea…we now know that post-glacial ireland just never had snakes, but I like the mental image of patrick just focusing so hard he flung all the snakes into the ocean…

Anyway, druids and st patrick are the main ways that shamrocks came to widely symbolize ireland, but it wasn’t the only way. In fact, throught history a lot of irelands enemies would use the clover in THEIR propaganda to symbolize ireland as weak or small and easy to crush….but clover, much like the people of ireland, is actually very resistant and leverages it’s power in numbers, which is exactly what the irish resistance did in the 1770’s, Leading the Queen of England to ban the shamrock as a symbol until the 1890’s, when queen Victoria allowed irish soldiers to wear shamrock’s in an effort to show her respect to their efforts in the boer war, where the irish saw a massive number of casualties helping the british. In fact, this is where the tradition of the royal family giving the irish military shamrocks on the 17th comes from.

Clovers were also used for SO much more than symbolism. In Ireland and throughout Europe, clover was often eaten fresh in salads, or used in things like teas.

And remember that ointment we talked about? Well, it turns out people really MIGHT have been using clover juice in their eyes, as it has some anti-microbial properties that may have helped get rid of eye infections! So maybe not for seeing fairies, but at least for seeing a little more clearly

Europeans and Native American’s Alike also used white clover to cure coughs, colds, and other ailments because of those antimicrobial properties. Today, clover is mostly thought of as a ground cover or weed, but is still a favorite with foragers who use it to make teas, tinctures, and other tasty treats!

While it may not be a super common plant in medicine, clover IS becoming a very popular alternative to grass lawns due to it’s lower maintenance and popularity with pollinators, so It won’t surprise me if we start seeing these little guys pop up A LOT more frequently

Whether you are celebrating St. Patricks Day, replacing your lawn, or just happen to stumble upon a clover patch on your next walk, I hope you take a second to appreciate how much history and culture can we wrapped up in such a tiny little package….and keep an eye out for 4 leaf clovers for a bit of extra luck!

Sources:

Episode 11: Clover Controversy & Seeing Green- Shamrocks

Episode 12: Tea Time Treats & Weaponized Honey- Rhododendrons

Episode 10: Weird Wood & The Thiccckest Flowers: Mimosa Flowers