Clover in the Eye of the Beholder

Arron Cannon - UNT Geography Major

Image from psdgraphics.com.

In today’s observation I looked at clovers and the relationship between the four leafed and the three leafed clovers. I questioned if there was any significance to the uniqueness of the four leafed clover and if the extra leaf aided in photosynthesis. Upon further research I concluded that as of today, there is no scientific evidence other than the four leafed clover possesses a very rare recessive gene, one in ten thousand clovers retain this sporadic gene that causes the tiny plant to bloom an extra leaf. The same process causes the uniqueness of eye color and, even less common, how some humans possess an infrequent genetic trait that allows for one eye that is one color and the other eye another. As with the four-leafed clover, one in ten thousand humans are also gifted with a rare recessive gene that allows for different color eyes.

I also found that the color of clovers was not consistent, one particular clover I observed had a purplish ink-splotch pigmentation right in the middle of the clover leaf. Did this color change right in the middle of the leaf to help this tiny clover species flourish more so than other clover types? One particular article I found suggested that the color difference is an insect deterrent. This tiny splotch makes the leaf appear different to insects that feed on clovers; insects have a different spectrum of color than humans do. To an insect looking for the healthiest clover, the tiny purple splotch looks as though the clover is dying and that the nutritional value is not as high as other all green clovers.

This observation helped me understand that the smallest differences can make a huge impact on the diversity life among species. The difference between life and death of a plant can hinge on one pigmentation difference.