Holiday Planning & Ideas St. Patrick's Day What are the Real Odds of Finding a Four-Leaf Clover? Are four-leaf clovers as rare as you think? See what the experts have to say. By Martha Stewart Editors Martha Stewart Editors An article attributed to "Martha Stewart Editors" indicates when several writers and editors have contributed to an article over the years. These collaborations allow us to provide you with the most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information available.The Martha Stewart team aims to teach and inspire readers daily with tested-until-perfected recipes, creative DIY projects, and elevated home and entertaining ideas. They are experts in their fields who research, create, and test the best ways to help readers design the life they want. The joy is in the doing. Editorial Guidelines Updated on February 7, 2023 Photo: Aaron Dyer How would you feel if you were walking in your yard and found a four-leaf clover? Lucky, right? In addition to being a symbol of faith and love, this unique plant also represents good fortune. And rightfully so, as the chances of finding one have long been tied to a 1 in 10,000 ratio. Do you think you can find a four-leaf clover? Experts reveal the true odds of spotting one, and more details behind the rare flowering plant. Everything You Need to Know About Clover Lawns, the Eco-Friendly Landscaping Trend That Calls for Just 4 Mowings Per Year The Odds of Finding a Four-Leaf Clover If you love to scavenge for four-leaf clovers, in reality, they aren't actually that hard to find. The true odds are more like 1 in 5,076, according to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. The 1 in 10,000 chance is for a 'typical' group of plants, notes John Frett, former professor of landscape horticulture and director of the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens. This means a group that represents the statistical norm for the population. He notes that individual plants differ in their propensity to produce the fourth leaflet, just like how people have different heights. "Breeders have selected varieties that produce as much as 50 percent of the leaves with four leaflets," he says. "Combined with the fact that clover spreads by underground stems, a large patch of clover can grow with an increased ability to produce greater than normal leaves with four leaflets, leading to an increased rate of discovering the elusive four-leaf clover." The Difference Between a Shamrock and Clover Authentic four-leaf clovers come from the White Clover plant, formally known as Trifolium repens, according to Clovers Online. This species often experiences mutations that create an additional leaflet, notes the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Many people believe that a shamrock is a four-leaf clover, but they are not the same. Irish tradition holds that the shamrock or three-leaf clover represents the Holy Trinity: one for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit. Another way of identifying a real four-leaf clover is that the fourth leaflet is usually smaller than the other three leaflets. The Rarity of Four-Leaf Clovers Suzi Mekhitarian, a resident in a Sydney, Australia suburb, found 21 four-leaf clovers in her front yard back in 2014. This type of clover is unusual, says Brett Summerell, the director of science at the Australian Botanic Garden. "Instead of the dominant gene characteristics of the plant being three leaves, it is four, increasing the chances of this occurring in a single patch," he says. "There hasn't been a great deal of research into this, so nobody knows why this occurs, but I hear about it happening every five or six years." No matter what the facts, finding a four-leaf clover is still a sign of luck and worth keeping. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit