Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Oxalis – the Good Luck plant
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
While you’re likely seeing green “shamrocks” everywhere, what exactly is a shamrock? It’s a kind of slurred pronunciation of the Irish word seamrog, meaning little clover. It’s really White Clover also known as trifolium reepens. A 3 leafed plant that WAS thought of as a weed but is now a great lawn replacement!
It’s also related to oxalis, also called shamrock. The leaves are very similar but the flowers are quite different from clover.
History recounts that the Celtic druids believed the no. 3 to be a perfect number and, as such, to have inherent mystical powers. No one is quite sure why they believed this but it is possible the number signified the totality of the past, present and future, or sky, earth and underground. Whatever the reason, the Celts attached great significance to the number. It also represented the rebirth of Spring and later became Ireland’s national symbol of pride. In ancient days the Celts believed that white clover warded off evil spirits (it DOES attract pollinators). With it’s 3 leaves it also became a symbol of the Holy Trinity to early Christians.
*Interesting note: the leaves fold up at night as if praying…
White clover is a beneficial plant to organic lawn care because it fixes nitrogren. Simply put, it keeps your soil in better shape than your lawn grass. White clover is an excellent forage crop for livestock. I have some recipes for humans HERE.
Oxalis is also 3 leafed and comes in green or a lovely purple and has adorable little flowers.
We have a native oxalis also called Violet Wood Sorrel.
