Four-leaf clover odds 10,000 to 1

There are several kinds of clover. Pictured here are two four-leaf clovers that I found growing together. White clover tends to produce more four-leaf clovers than other kinds of clover. White clover has white flowers.

Finding a four-leaf clover is a universal symbol of good luck. The four leaves on a single stem are actually called leaflets and they symbolize faith, hope, love and luck. It is believed that wild white clover has the ratio of three-leaf clovers to four-leaf clovers, about 10,000 to 1. Where white clover is growing in poor soil, that ratio can be much less.

White clover is often called Ladino clover and is often found growing wild in yards, along sidewalks, at the edges of playgrounds and in cow pastures. Hunters often sew Ladino clover in food plots to attract deer and turkeys. It is a way to help maintain healthy wild animals.

Tip to finding a four-leaf clover: While standing -- not kneeling -- look for square shapes among the many triangular leaf shapes. Sometimes it is easier to see the whitish uneven design halfway inside the four leaves. That's how I found these in my picture.

Through the Woods is a weekly nature photo column by Aaron Horrell. Find this column at semissourian.com to order a reprint of the photo. Find more work by him at the Painted Wren Gallery.