shamrock

a plant

TRANSLATION

shamrock = Kleeblatt, irisches Kleeblatt

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

The truth behind the shamrock

Thousands of people (wear) a shamrock on St Patrick's Day but how many know their trifolium repens from their oxalis acetosella? BBC News Online unearthed the truth rooted behind the myth.

(BBC News - 17th March 2004)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3519116.stm

* This is a fascinating article by the way, and well worth reading if you have Irish colleagues or friends

Did you
know?

sham-rock
noun

Any of several plants, such as a clover or wood sorrel, having compound leaves with three small leaflets, considered the national emblem of Ireland.

Irish Gaelic seamróg, diminutive of seamar, clover, from Middle Irish semar

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition


And for all you passionate botanists, here's what Wordnet has to say:

sham-rock

1: creeping European clover having white to pink flowers and bright green leaves; naturalized in United States; widely grown for forage [syn: white clover, dutch clover, Trifolium repens]
2: Eurasian plant with heart-shaped trifoliate leaves and white pink- or purple-veined flowers [syn: common wood sorrel, cuckoo bread, Oxalis acetosella]
3: clover native to Ireland with yellowish flowers; often considered the true or original shamrock [syn: hop clover, lesser yellow trefoil, Trifolium dubium]

Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

Geographical note:
There are 2 towns in the US named Shamrock, one in Oklahoma, the other in Texas.

Cultural note:
It is believed that if you find a 4-leaf clover you will have great luck :)

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