Japan’s 21-Leaf Clover

Happiness lies in a 4-leaf clover; a 5-leaf is wealth and luck, the 6-leaf is said to be — fame. (Shigeo) Ohara’s dream is a 30-leaf clover.


(四つ葉は幸せ、五つ葉は金運、六つ葉は名声──といわれるクローバー。小原さんの夢は、３０枚葉という。) - Yomiuri

Today, Shigeo Ohara, dream has come ever so closer to being a reality with his world record breaking finding of a 21-leaf clover. As a formal government food crop researcher now at age 83, Mr.Ohara spends his time researching clovers in the Iwate Prefecture.


The 21-leaf clover is described to have leaves with about “1cm long that overlap each other like rose petals on a 3-centimeter stem” (From Yomiuri, translated by Pink Tentacle).


Some of us might not and may never even set eyes upon a clover with more than 3 leaf, but astonishing enough, Mr.Ohara is also the current official record holder for a 18-leaf clover which he found in his garden in May of 2002!


That’s not all! Mr.Ohara stated that just last month, one of his family member found a 27-leaf clover which has yet to be confirmed!

I guess Mr. Ohara’s research on the genes of clover’s leaf count, colour, pattern and size will be a retirement hobby that will bring him plenty of luck.


Source:
Yomiuri
Pink Tentacle

1 Comments

1. sir jorge, June 10, 2008:

   i’m going to have to add that to my reasons to visit Japan

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