Editing Four-leaf clover (section)

{{Short description|Rare mutation of the common 3-leaf clover said to bring good luck}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{for|other plants informally known as "4-leaf clover" and other uses|Four-leaf clover (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Four-leaf Clover Trifolium repens 2.jpg|thumb|4-leaf white clover ([[Trifolium repens|''Trifolium repens'' L.]])]]
The '''four-leaf clover''' is a rare mutation of the common three-leaf [[clover]] that has four [[Leaflet (botany)|leaflets]] instead of three. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring good [[luck]],<ref>{{cite book |title= Black Cats & 4-leaf Clovers: The Origins of Old Wives' Tales and Superstitions in Our Everyday Lives |author= Harry Oliver |edition= reprint |publisher= Penguin |year= 2010 |isbn= 9781101442814}}</ref> a belief that dates back to at least the 17th century. The earliest example of this idea may be from the 1620 play ''Astologaster'', by [[John Melton|Sir John Melton]]. The 1640 ''Theatrum Botanicum'' mentions a "fower-leafed or purple grasse" that was kept in gardens because it was "good for [[Purpura|the purples]] in children or others".<ref>Parkinson J. 1640. ''Theatrum Botanicum: The Theater of Plants or An Herball of Large Extent''. Tho. Cotes. Publisher, London, Pp 1110-1112.</ref>

The term ''four-leaf'' is [[Botany|botanically]] a [[misnomer]], as [[Clover|cloverplants]] have multiple [[leaves]] (multiple clovers), each consisting of a varying number of [[Leaflet (botany)|leaflets]], typically three.