Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

According to Wikipedia, "a shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name shamrock comes from Irish seamróg [ˈʃamˠɾˠoːɡ], which is the diminutive of the Irish word seamair óg and simply means 'young clover.'"

There isn't consensus over what species should be considered the "true" shamrock, but Wikipedia summarizes some data points suggesting that Trifolium dubium (Suckling Clover) and Trifolium repens (White Clover) are leading candidates (see "Botanical Species" here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamrock)

Another biodiversity reference associated with Saint Patrick is that he "drove the snakes out of Ireland", though Ireland - like many islands - didn't have any snakes to drive out. The web site Irish Central quotes National Museum of Ireland in Dublin keeper Nigel Monaghan: "At no time has there ever been any suggestion of snakes in Ireland. [There was] nothing for St. Patrick to banish," The story seems to be an allegory for banishing paganism through the introduction of Catholicism.

Photo of Trifolium dubium courtesy of Ashley Bradford. More at Maryland Biodiversity Project: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/3857

MBP lists 20 species between the two genera of Trifolium and Oxalis: https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewChecklist.php?genus=Trifolium,Oxalis

  • Bill
Posted on March 17, 2021 01:14 PM by billhubick billhubick

Comments

MBP posts natural history content to social media every day on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Posted by billhubick about 3 years ago

Add a Comment

Sign In or Sign Up to add comments