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A shamrock is a common name for a clover. But as American botanist Kathleen Pelkki explains, a shamrock is a common name for any number of plants belonging to the genus Trifolium, from the Latin meaning "having three leaves." The plant most commonly referred to as shamrock is white clover or Trifolium repens. The Irish word "seamrog," from which shamrock comes, means "little clover." Black medic, wood sorrel, and the hop clover have also been called shamrocks. There is some debate over this issue. We found an Irish FAQ that claims that shamrocks are smaller than clovers, though they are both species of Trifolium. We couldn't verify this
with other online resources. For a thoroughly detailed investigation of this issue, we refer you to Jane Lyons' article "The Real Shamrock." She states unequivocally that a true Irish Shamrock is a white clover or Trifolium repens. As evidence, she refers to Irish naturalist Nathaniel Colgan's 1893 manifesto, "The Shamrock: A Further Attempt to Fix Its Species." Shamrocks came to be associated with St. Patrick's Day because the patron saint of Ireland used the three-leafed plant as a metaphor for the Christian concept of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
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