GLENHILLS resident, Khushi Hansraj, recently stumbled onto some good luck with the rare find of a four-leaf clover. That is according to the ancient Irish superstition.
For centuries, people have revered the elusive mystical specimen as a good luck charm, mostly due to their rarity. Usually the white clover (Trifolium repens) only has three lobes, but every so often people have come across four and even five or six-leaf clovers.
It is thought that mutations, environmental impacts or recessive genes causes the anomaly. The odds of finding a four-leaf clover have been estimated to be one in 10 000. Hansraj was helping her family in their garden when she made the exciting discovery.
“We regularly work in the garden as a family and I made a habit of looking for the four-leaf clovers. I never thought I would find one and then I spotted it in our lawn,” said the elated 10-year-old.
To preserve her delicate sprig, the Curro Embury College pupil said she plans to laminate it. “I am not sure if it will bring me luck. I hope it does. It was such an exciting find I hope to keep it,” she said.
Facts about the clover:
– Each leaf is believed to represent something: the first is for faith, the second is for hope, the third is for love, and the fourth is for luck.
– A fifth leaf represents money
– The Druids (Celtic priests), in the early days of Ireland, believed that if they carried a three-leaf clover (also known as a shamrock), they could see evil spirits coming and have a chance to escape
– Some believe that a person who finds a four-leaf clover will meet their future soul-mate on the same day.
– One belief states that the clover will only bring you good luck if you keep it out of sight and never pass it on to another person.
-However, another states that your luck will double if you pass it on to another
– The first literary reference that suggest a four-leaf clover’s good fortune was made in 1620 by Sir John Melton.
– Thee most leaves ever found on a single clover stem is 56. It was discovered by Shigeo Obara of Hanamaki City in Iwate, Japan, on 10 May 2009
– According to Christian legend, Eve is said to have carried a four-leaf clover with her when she left the Garden of Eden
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