Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

Jan 8, 2008

Shamrock

Here is some lovely shamrock that I found along the way. Isn’t it luscious and green? Such a bright, pretty contrast to the gray winter’s day.

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6 Comments, Comment or Ping

mary (17 comments.)

I’m curious what kind of sorrel that is. Where did you find it? (We have both beautiful native forms here, and the bright yellow one that’s called sourgrass or bermuda buttercup, and is clearly not that, but which is alien and invasive.)

Jan 8th, 2008
Linda R. Moore

AFAIK it’s actually shamrock–the Irish clover–from an Irish-American friend’s garden (i.e. not wild). :)

Ah, oxalis! Yes, I know how rampant that one was. Someone had planted it in my old garden and it was a constant struggle to make it not take over everything else.

Wheeeee! It just started raining here!

Jan 8th, 2008
mary (17 comments.)

The flowers are decidedly the trumpet-shape (closed, in that photo) of sorrel, but common wood sorrel is often called (and sold as) “shamrock” because the leaves are the same shape:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamrock

Here’s our little native form:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_sorrel

True clover is a legume (in the pea family) and has a different flower shape:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_clover

I love true clover, it smells so sweet (and tastes sweet! I sucked on the flowers, as a child), but I think of it as “don’t walk there, bees!” :)

Commonly, though, it’s also shamrock. Common names can be good catch-alls for a shape, for instance, many flowers sold as daisies are actually chrysanthemums or other similarly shaped flowers, and many “buttercups” aren’t in the ranunculus family, as are our wild buttercups.

Vultures in the eastern hemisphere aren’t closely related to those in the western hemisphere (which are more closely related to storks), and look at the Australian, American, and European robins! :)

Jan 8th, 2008
Vixen (12 comments.)

That is a lovely plant. A bright distraction of color from the dreary weather.

Jan 9th, 2008
Linda R. Moore

Now, isn’t this interesting. :)

When I looked up sorrel, I got what I always knew, growing up, as dock leaves:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorrel

It looks like the California version and the version I know (but had no idea was sorrel until I looked it up) have the same basic beginnings but change at the “order” level.

These plants were always in demand by kids as they helped to soothe stinging nettle stings.

Gotcha on the shape/designator thing. I’m familiar with true clover because it used to grow all over our lawn, along with real daisies. :)

Hm, here’s a question for you. If I were to read a (not too scientific) book about California native species of flora and fauna, would you have any recommendations?

Jan 9th, 2008
Linda R. Moore

Hi Vixen — yes indeed :)

Jan 9th, 2008