Pat Holmes  age 13. of Cleveland.

Are three and four leaf clovers related or strangers?

Sometimes a little black lamb gets born in a flock of white sheep. His Mama knows that he is no stranger. Sometimes a black leopard gets born. to brown and white spotted parents. He is no stranger either. These things also can happen in the plant world. Andy has seen pink and blue cornflowers growing contentedly from the same plant.

Most clover leaves grow in three heart‑shaped sections. But once in a while a pretty clover leaf may have four sections. All its brother and sister leaves on the. same plant have but three sections. This is not because the four‑leaf clover cannot count. Nor is it a stranger. It is a sort of accident. like the black lamb. the black leopard and the pink cornflowers.

Some clover plants tend to grow more four‑leaf children than others. These plants may be sorted out and bred with other plants which also tend to grow more four‑leaf clovers. The next generation of these plants will tend to grow still more leaves with four sections. You can sometimes find such plants for sale in a flower shop. But the good old magic four‑leaf clover is still to be found once in a while in any patch of clover. It grows happily with its brothers and sisters waiting for you to come and find it ‑ just for luck.