Shamrocks and St. Patrick’s Day go hand in hand. But ask someone from Ireland to bring you a shamrock, and you could receive at least five different plants! A survey by Irish botanists showed this confusion over Ireland’s national symbol in 1893 . . . and again in 1988.
But whether you’re talking about lesser clover, white clover, red clover, black medick, or common wood sorrel, the three-leafed green plant we use to decorate on St. Patrick’s Day has been Ireland’s national symbol for more than 250 years. It has been associated with Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick, for 100 years longer than that!