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75-542: A widowed queen spoiled her only daughter, who was so beautiful that kings vied for the honor of her hand, not believing they could attain it. Uneasy that her daughter would never marry, the queen went to visit the Fairy of the Desert for advice. She made a cake to protect herself from the lions that guarded the fairy, but she lost it. A yellow dwarf offered to save her in return for her daughter's hand. She accepted, but when

150-457: A 4-leaf clover. Other species that have been sold as "4-leaf clovers" include Marsilea quadrifolia . A description from 1869 says that 4-leaf clovers were "gathered at night-time during the full moon by sorceresses, who mixed it with vervain and other ingredients, while young girls in search of a token of perfect happiness made quest of the plant by day." In an 1877 letter to St.   Nicholas Magazine , an 11-year-old girl wrote, "Did

225-404: A 6-leaf clover is ~312,500 to 1. The exact reported frequencies are 5076 to 1 for 4-leaf clovers; 24,390 to 1 for 5-leaf clovers; and 312,500 to 1 for 6-leaf clovers. The clover with the most leaves ever found had 63 of them, and was discovered by Yoshiharu Watanabe of Nasushiobara city, Tochigi prefecture , Japan , on 2 August 2023. The clover was from the species Trifolium repens L., or

300-577: A Victorian tenet of evolution, mythic cannibalism among ogres was attributed to memories of more savage races, practising alongside "superior" races of more refined sensibilities. The most important modern proponent of the 'hidden people' theory was the Scottish folklorist and antiquarian David MacRitchie . A theory that fairies, et al., were intelligent species, distinct from humans and angels. An alchemist, Paracelsus , classed gnomes and sylphs as elementals , meaning magical entities who personify

375-524: A charm tree to protect one's home. Various folklorists have proposed classification systems for fairies. Using terms popularized by W. B. Yeats, trooping fairies are those who appear in groups and might form settlements, as opposed to solitary fairies, who do not live or associate with others of their kind. In this context, the term fairy is usually held in a wider sense, including various similar beings, such as dwarves and elves of Germanic folklore . In Scottish folklore , fairies are divided into

450-580: A class of "demoted" angels . One story described a group of angels revolting, and God ordering the gates of heaven shut; those still in heaven remained angels, those in hell became demons, and those caught in between became fairies. Others wrote that some angels, not being godly enough, yet not evil enough for hell, were thrown out of heaven. This concept may explain the tradition of paying a "teind" or tithe to hell; as fallen angels, although not quite devils, they could be viewed as subjects of Satan. King James I , in his dissertation Daemonologie , stated

525-450: A complaint, or a compliment. People who saw the fairies were advised not to look closely, because they resented infringements on their privacy. The need to not offend them could lead to problems: one farmer found that fairies threshed his corn, but the threshing continued after all his corn was gone, and he concluded that they were stealing from his neighbors, leaving him the choice between offending them, dangerous in itself, and profiting by

600-549: A day (to be sealed in plastic as "lucky charms") by introducing a genetically engineered ingredient to the plants to encourage the aberration (there are, however, widely available cultivars that regularly produce leaves with multiple leaflets – see below). There are some cultivars of white clover ( Trifolium repens ) which regularly produce more than three leaflets, including purple-leaved T. repens "Purpurascens Quadrifolium" and green-leaved T. repens "Quadrifolium". Some clovers have more spade-shaped leaves, rather than

675-502: A fairy birth — sometimes attending a mortal, kidnapped woman's childbed. Invariably, the woman is given something for the child's eyes, usually an ointment; through mischance, or sometimes curiosity, she uses it on one or both of her own eyes. At that point, she sees where she is; one midwife realizes that she was not attending a great lady in a fine house but her own runaway maid-servant in a wretched cave. She escapes without making her ability known but sooner or later betrays that she can see

750-410: A fairy-haunted place, it was customary to put a piece of dry bread in one's pocket." In County Wexford , Ireland , in 1882, it was reported that: "if an infant is carried out after dark a piece of bread is wrapped in its bib or dress, and this protects it from any witchcraft or evil." Bells also have an ambiguous role; while they protect against fairies, the fairies riding on horseback — such as

825-574: A farmer who pastured his herd on fairy ground, a fairy queen took on the appearance of a great horse, with the wings of an eagle, and a tail like a dragon, hissing loud and spitting fire. Then she would change into a little man lame of a leg, with a bull's head, and a lambent flame playing round it. In the 19th-century Child ballad " Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight ", the elf-knight is a Bluebeard figure, and Isabel must trick and kill him to preserve her life. The child ballad " Tam Lin " reveals that

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900-468: A guise of Woden but later Christianised as a king in a tale by Walter Map , was said, by Map, to have visited a dwarf 's underground mansion and returned three centuries later; although only some of his men crumbled to dust on dismounting, Herla and his men who did not dismount were trapped on horseback, this being one account of the origin of the Wild Hunt of European folklore . A common feature of

975-477: A meaning equivalent to "enchanted" or "magical". It is also used as a name for the place these beings come from, the land of Fairy. A recurring motif of legends about fairies is the need to ward off fairies using protective charms. Common examples of such charms include church bells, wearing clothing inside out, four-leaf clover , and food. Fairies were also sometimes thought to haunt specific locations, and to lead travelers astray using will-o'-the-wisps . Before

1050-464: A particular force of nature, and exert powers over these forces. Folklore accounts have described fairies as "spirits of the air". Much folklore of fairies involves methods of protecting oneself from their malice, by means such as cold iron, charms (see amulet , talisman ) of rowan trees or various herbs , or simply shunning locations "known" to be theirs, ergo avoiding offending any fairies. Less harmful pranks ascribed to fairies include: tangling

1125-848: A reaction to greater industrialization and loss of older folk ways. Fairies are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers. Diminutive fairies of various kinds have been reported through centuries, ranging from quite tiny to the size of a human. These small sizes could be magically assumed, rather than constant. Some smaller fairies could expand their figures to imitate humans. On Orkney , fairies were described as short in stature, dressed in dark grey, and sometimes seen in armour . In some folklore, fairies have green eyes. Some depictions of fairies show them with footwear, others as barefoot . Wings, while common in Victorian and later artworks, are rare in folklore; fairies flew by means of magic, sometimes perched on ragwort stems or

1200-418: A role in the frequency of development of four-leaf clovers in cloverplants. A plant hormone called auxin , which plays an important role in plant development , has also been shown to increase the probability of mutations in clovers, especially the development of clovers with more than 4 leaves (reportedly, 5, 6, 7, and 8-leaf clovers were able to be produced by putting a dose of phosphate fertilizer (double than

1275-622: A shared Proto-Indo-European mythology. In the Middle Ages , fairie was used adjectivally, meaning "enchanted" (as in fairie knight , fairie queene ), but also became a generic term for various "enchanted" creatures during the Late Middle English period. Literature of the Elizabethan era conflated elves with the fairies of Romance culture, rendering these terms somewhat interchangeable. The modern concept of "fairy" in

1350-541: A similar concept in Persian mythology, see Peri . At one time it was thought that fairies were originally worshiped as deities, such as nymphs and tree spirits, and with the burgeoning predominance of the Christian Church , reverence for these deities carried on, but in a dwindling state of perceived power. Many deprecated deities of older folklore and myth were repurposed as fairies in Victorian fiction (See

1425-514: A slice of fresh homemade bread. Bread is associated with the home and the hearth, as well as with industry and the taming of nature, and as such, seems to be disliked by some types of fairies. On the other hand, in much of the Celtic folklore , baked goods are a traditional offering to the folk, as are cream and butter. "The prototype of food, and therefore a symbol of life, bread was one of the commonest protections against fairies. Before going out into

1500-641: A supernatural race in Irish , comparable to the fairies or elves. They are variously said to be ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods. A common theme found among the Celtic nations describes a race of people who had been driven out by invading humans. In old Celtic fairy lore the Aos Sí ('people of the fairy mounds') are immortals living in the ancient barrows and cairns. The Irish banshee ( Irish Gaelic bean sí , previously bean sídhe , 'woman of

1575-469: Is a type of mythical being or legendary creature , generally described as anthropomorphic , found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic , Slavic , Germanic , and French folklore), a form of spirit , often with metaphysical, supernatural , or preternatural qualities. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin, but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Various folk theories about

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1650-545: Is an outdated theory that fairy folklore evolved from folk memories of a prehistoric race: newcomers superseded a body of earlier human or humanoid peoples, and the memories of this defeated race developed into modern conceptions of fairies. Proponents find support in the tradition of cold iron as a charm against fairies, viewed as a cultural memory of invaders with iron weapons displacing peoples who had just stone, bone, wood, etc., at their disposal, and were easily defeated. 19th-century archaeologists uncovered underground rooms in

1725-473: Is distinct from English fey (from Old English fǣġe ), which means 'fated to die'. However, this unrelated Germanic word fey may have been influenced by Old French fae (fay or fairy) as the meaning had shifted slightly to 'fated' from the earlier 'doomed' or 'accursed'. Various folklore traditions refer to fairies euphemistically as wee folk , good folk , people of peace , fair folk ( Welsh : Tylwyth Teg ), etc. The term fairy

1800-613: Is sometimes used to describe any magical creature, including goblins and gnomes , while at other times, the term describes only a specific type of ethereal creature or sprite . Explanations for the origins of fairies range from Persian mythology to the folklore of the Brythonic ( Bretons , Welsh , Cornish ), Gaelic ( Irish , Scots , Manx ), and Germanic peoples , and from the pages of Middle French medieval romances . According to some historians, such as Barthélemy d'Herbelot , fairies were adopted from and influenced by

1875-663: The peris of Persian mythology. Peris were angelic beings that were mentioned in antiquity in pre-Islamic Persia as early as the Achaemenid Empire . Peris were later described in various Persian works in great detail such as the Shahnameh by Ferdowsi . A peri was illustrated to be fair, beautiful, and extravagant nature spirits that were supported by wings. This may have influenced migratory Germanic and Eurasian settlers into Europe, or been transmitted during early exchanges. The similarities could also be attributed to

1950-1021: The Seelie Court (more beneficently inclined, but still dangerous), and the Unseelie Court (more malicious). While fairies of the Seelie Court enjoyed playing generally harmless pranks on humans, those of the Unseelie Court often brought harm to humans for entertainment. Both could be dangerous to humans if offended. Some scholars have cautioned against the overuse of dividing fairies into types. British folklore historian Simon Young noted that classification varies widely from researcher to researcher, and pointed out that it does not necessarily reflect old beliefs, since "those people living hundreds of years ago did not structure their experience as we do." A considerable amount of lore about fairies revolves around changelings , fairies left in

2025-632: The Orkney islands that resembled the Elfland described in Childe Rowland , which lent additional support. In folklore, flint arrowheads from the Stone Age were attributed to the fairies as " elfshot ", while their green clothing and underground homes spoke to a need for camouflage and covert shelter from hostile humans, their magic a necessary skill for combating those with superior weaponry. In

2100-408: The 5-leaf clover, known as a rose clover, as a particular prize. It is debated whether the fourth leaf is caused genetically or environmentally. Its relative rarity (1 in ~5,000 clovers ) suggests a possible recessive gene appearing at a low frequency. Alternatively, four-leaf clovers could be caused by somatic mutation or a developmental error of environmental causes. They could also be caused by

2175-403: The Desert freed him and brought him to her castle, carrying him by the castle where the princess lived; she saw them and became convinced that the king was unfaithful to her. The king was kept more pleasantly, but was unable to escape. He lamented his fate along the sea, and a mermaid left enchanted sea rushes behind to look like his body and freed him. She gave him a sword to fight his way to

2250-544: The Early Modern English faerie , meaning ' realm of the fays '. Faerie , in turn, derives from the Old French form faierie , a derivation from faie (from Vulgar Latin fata , ' the fates '), with the abstract noun suffix -erie . In Old French romance, a faie or fee was a woman skilled in magic, and who knew the power and virtue of words, of stones, and of herbs. Fairy

2325-537: The Fairy of the Desert and the Yellow Dwarf interrupted. The dwarf carried off the princess, and the fairy fell in love with the king and carried him off. She chained him in a cave and turned herself into a beautiful woman, but her feet being unchanged, the king was able to tell who she was. He told her that he would hate the fairy as long as she kept him chained up, but would love her if she freed him. The Fairy of

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2400-514: The Sun (Solar Angels ). The more Earthbound Devas included nature spirits , elementals , and fairies , which were described as appearing in the form of colored flames, roughly the size of a human. Arthur Conan Doyle , in his 1922 book The Coming of the Fairies ; The Theosophic View of Fairies , reported that eminent theosophist E. L. Gardner had likened fairies to butterflies, whose function

2475-465: The University of Georgia have reported finding the gene that turns ordinary three-leaf clovers into the coveted four-leaf types. Masked by the three-leaf gene and strongly influenced by environmental conditions, molecular markers now make it possible to detect the presence of the gene for four-leaves and for breeders to work with it. The results of the study, which also located two other leaf traits in

2550-593: The advent of modern medicine , fairies were often blamed for sickness, particularly tuberculosis and birth deformities. In addition to their folkloric origins, fairies were a common feature of Renaissance literature and Romantic art , and were especially popular in the United Kingdom during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The Celtic Revival also saw fairies established as a canonical part of Celtic cultural heritage. The English fairy derives from

2625-624: The ancestors of the current Irish people , they were said to have withdrawn to the sídhe (fairy mounds), where they lived on in popular imagination as "fairies". They are associated with several Otherworld realms including Mag Mell ('the Pleasant Plain'), Emain Ablach ('the place of apples'), and Tir na nÓg ('the Land of Youth'). The aos sí is the Irish term for

2700-533: The backs of birds. Modern illustrations often include dragonfly or butterfly wings. Early modern fairies does not derive from a single origin; the term is a conflation of disparate elements from folk belief sources, influenced by literature and speculation. In folklore of Ireland, the mythic aes sídhe , or 'people of the fairy hills ', have come to a modern meaning somewhat inclusive of fairies. The Scandinavian elves also served as an influence. Folklorists and mythologists have variously depicted fairies as:

2775-434: The corner blocked the fairy path, and cottages have been built with the front and back doors in line, so that the owners could, in need, leave them both open and let the fairies troop through all night. Locations such as fairy forts were left undisturbed; even cutting brush on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act. Fairy trees, such as thorn trees , were dangerous to chop down; one such tree

2850-412: The dead and fairies depicted as living underground. Diane Purkiss observed an equating of fairies with the untimely dead who left "unfinished lives". One tale recounted a man caught by the fairies, who found that whenever he looked steadily at a fairy, it appeared as a dead neighbor of his. This theory was among the more common traditions related, although many informants also expressed doubts. There

2925-510: The dwarf showed the miserable home in which her daughter would live, she grew quite ill. Her daughter, distressed, went to seek the same fairy. The dwarf told her what her mother had promised, and when she was ready to reject it, the lions arrived. She agreed if he would save her. Back at the castle, she fell quite ill and agreed to marry the King of the Gold Mines. However, at the wedding,

3000-504: The faeries, states that neither he nor his court fear the church bells, which the author and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis cast as a politic disassociation from faeries although Lewis makes it clear that he himself does not consider fairies to be demons in his chapter on the topic ("The Longaevi" or "long-livers") from The Discarded Image . In an era of intellectual and religious upheaval, some Victorian reappraisals of mythology cast deities in general as metaphors for natural events, which

3075-426: The fairies is the use of magic to disguise their appearance. Fairy gold is notoriously unreliable, appearing as gold when paid but soon thereafter revealing itself to be leaves, gorse blossoms, gingerbread cakes, or a variety of other comparatively worthless things. These illusions are also implicit in the tales of fairy ointment . Many tales from Northern Europe tell of a mortal woman summoned to attend

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3150-443: The fairies. She is invariably blinded in that eye or in both if she used the ointment on both. There have been claims by people in the past, like William Blake , to have seen fairy funerals. Allan Cunningham in his Lives of Eminent British Painters records that William Blake claimed to have seen a fairy funeral: 'Did you ever see a fairy's funeral, madam?' said Blake to a lady who happened to sit next to him. 'Never, sir!' said

3225-415: The fairy mound') is sometimes described as a ghost. Four-leaf clover The four-leaf clover is a rare variation of the common three-leaf clover that has four leaflets instead of three. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring good luck , although it is not clear when or how this idea began. One early mention of "Fower-leafed or purple grasse" is from 1640 and simply says that it

3300-485: The fairy queen — often have bells on their harness. This may be a distinguishing trait between the Seelie Court from the Unseelie Court, such that fairies use them to protect themselves from more wicked members of their race. Another ambiguous piece of folklore revolves about poultry: a cock's crow drove away fairies, but other tales recount fairies keeping poultry. While many fairies will confuse travelers on

3375-475: The fairy women gave him a gowpen (double handful of meal) and told him to put it in his empty girnal (store), saying that the store would remain full for a long time, no matter how much he took out. It is also believed that to know the name of a particular fairy, a person could summon it and force it to do their bidding. The name could be used as an insult towards the fairy in question, but it could also rather contradictorily be used to grant powers and gifts to

3450-510: The hair of sleepers into fairy-locks (aka elf-locks), stealing small items, and leading a traveler astray. More dangerous behaviors were also attributed to fairies; any form of sudden death might have stemmed from a fairy kidnapping, the evident corpse a magical replica of wood. Consumption ( tuberculosis ) was sometimes blamed on fairies who forced young men and women to dance at revels every night, causing them to waste away from lack of rest. Rowan trees were considered sacred to fairies, and

3525-442: The interaction of several genes that happen to segregate in the individual plant. It is possible all four explanations could apply to individual cases. This means that multiple four-leaf clovers could be found in the same cloverplant, and a cloverplant that already has a clover with an abnormal number of leaflets has a higher chance of growing or having another abnormal clover than a cloverplant that doesn't have any. Researchers from

3600-453: The lady. 'I have,' said Blake, 'but not before last night.' And he went on to tell how, in his garden, he had seen 'a procession of creatures of the size and colour of green and grey grasshoppers, bearing a body laid out on a rose-leaf, which they buried with songs, and then disappeared.' They are believed to be an omen of death. The Tuatha Dé Danann are a race of supernaturally-gifted people in Irish mythology. They are thought to represent

3675-513: The main deities of pre-Christian Ireland. Many of the Irish modern tales of the Tuatha Dé Danann refer to these beings as fairies, though in more ancient times they were regarded as goddesses and gods . The Tuatha Dé Danann were spoken of as having come from islands in the north of the world or, in other sources, from the sky. After being victorious in a series of battles with other otherworldly beings, and then being defeated by

3750-695: The method of natural crossbreeding, while Yoshiharu Watanabe used both natural crossbreeding and manual crossbreeding. The world record for number of four-leaf clovers collected in one hour by an individual is 451, set by American Gabriella Gerhardt in 2019. Gerhardt also has a record-breaking collection of 118,791 four-leaf clovers, as well as 1437 six-leaf clovers and 209 seven-leaf. As stated, clovers can have more than four leaves. 5-leaf clovers are less commonly found naturally than 4-leaf clovers; however, they too have been successfully cultivated. Some 4-leaf clover collectors, particularly in Ireland, regard

3825-425: The mill or kiln at night, as it was known that the fairies brought their corn to be milled after dark. So long as the locals believed this, the miller could sleep secure in the knowledge that his stores were not being robbed. John Fraser, the miller of Whitehill, claimed to have hidden and watched the fairies trying unsuccessfully to work the mill. He said he decided to come out of hiding and help them, upon which one of

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3900-423: The narrower sense is unique to English folklore , later made diminutive in accordance with prevailing tastes of the Victorian era , as in " fairy tales " for children. The Victorian era and Edwardian era saw a heightened increase of interest in fairies. The Celtic Revival cast fairies as part of Ireland's cultural heritage. Carole Silver and others suggested this fascination of English antiquarians arose from

3975-449: The normal dose) in the soil where "special" white clover seeds were put (from a special cultivar that produces 4-leaf clovers more frequently than what normal cloverplants do), as well as watering these seeds with a 0.7% solution of auxin in water, during the course of the 10-day experiment). There are reports of farms in the US which specialize in four-leaf clovers, producing as many as 10,000

4050-589: The origins of fairies include casting them as either demoted angels or demons in a Christian tradition, as deities in Pagan belief systems, as spirits of the dead, as prehistoric precursors to humans , or as spirits of nature. The label of fairy has at times applied only to specific magical creatures with human appearance, magical powers, and a penchant for trickery. At other times it has been used to describe any magical creature, such as goblins and gnomes . Fairy has at times been used as an adjective, with

4125-403: The path, the will-o'-the-wisp can be avoided by not following it. Certain locations, known to be haunts of fairies, are to be avoided; C. S. Lewis reported hearing of a cottage more feared for its reported fairies than its reported ghost. In particular, digging in fairy hills was unwise. Paths that the fairies travel are also wise to avoid. Home-owners have knocked corners from houses because

4200-450: The place of stolen humans. In particular, folklore describes how to prevent the fairies from stealing babies and substituting changelings, and abducting older people as well. The theme of the swapped child is common in medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities. In pre-industrial Europe, a peasant family's subsistence frequently depended upon

4275-413: The princess. The fairy was entirely deceived by the sea rushes and did not pursue him. The king fought his way through sphinxes and dragons to find his path blocked by maidens with garlands of flowers; he still pressed on, tearing apart their garlands, and reached the princess. He persuaded her of his fidelity, but the Yellow Dwarf found them and killed him. The princess died of grief. The mermaid

4350-437: The productive labor of each member, and a person who was a permanent drain on the family's scarce resources could pose a threat to the survival of the entire family. In terms of protective charms, wearing clothing inside out, church bells, St. John's wort , and four-leaf clovers are regarded as effective. In Newfoundland folklore, the most popular type of fairy protection is bread, varying from stale bread to hard tack or

4425-534: The tale of a woman overcome by her fairy lover, who in later versions of the story is unmasked as a mortal. " Thomas the Rhymer " shows Thomas escaping with less difficulty, but he spends seven years in Elfland. Oisín is harmed not by his stay in Faerie but by his return; when he dismounts, the three centuries that have passed catch up with him, reducing him to an aged man. King Herla (O.E. "Herla cyning" ), originally

4500-541: The term "faries" referred to illusory spirits (demonic entities) that prophesied to, consorted with, and transported the individuals they served; in medieval times, a witch or sorcerer who had a pact with a familiar spirit might receive these services. In England's Theosophist circles of the 19th century, a belief in the "angelic" nature of fairies was reported. Entities referred to as Devas were said to guide many processes of nature , such as evolution of organisms, growth of plants , etc., many of which resided inside

4575-453: The theft. Millers were thought by the Scots to be "no canny", owing to their ability to control the forces of nature, such as fire in the kiln, water in the burn, and for being able to set machinery a-whirring. Superstitious communities sometimes believed that the miller must be in league with the fairies. In Scotland, fairies were often mischievous and to be feared. No one dared to set foot in

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4650-451: The three in the study were very rare. These traits can be quite attractive, particularly if combined with others, and can turn clover into an ornamental plant for use in flower beds. According to an experiment made in 2019 by the, at that moment, 17-year old Minori Mori, from Tsukuba , Japan, four-leaf clovers seem to be more likely to appear in well- fertilized soil. Phosphates (a common ingredient in fertilizers) have been proved to play

4725-411: The title character, though living among the fairies and having fairy powers, was, in fact, an "earthly knight" and though his life was pleasant now , he feared that the fairies would pay him as their teind (tithe) to hell. " Sir Orfeo " tells how Sir Orfeo's wife was kidnapped by the King of Faerie and only by trickery and an excellent harping ability was he able to win her back. "Sir Degare" narrates

4800-525: The unworthy dead, the children of Eve , a kind of demon , a species independent of humans, an older race of humans, and fallen angels . The folkloristic or mythological elements combine Celtic , Germanic and Greco-Roman elements. Folklorists have suggested that 'fairies' arose from various earlier beliefs, which lost currency with the advent of Christianity. These disparate explanations are not necessarily incompatible, as 'fairies' may be traced to multiple sources. A Christian tenet held that fairies were

4875-450: The user. Before the advent of modern medicine, many physiological conditions were untreatable and when children were born with abnormalities, it was common to blame the fairies. Sometimes fairies are described as assuming the guise of an animal. In Scotland, it was peculiar to the fairy women to assume the shape of deer; while witches became mice, hares, cats, gulls, or black sheep. In "The Legend of Knockshigowna ", in order to frighten

4950-446: The usual rounded ones. This may be a genetic mutation. Some genetic mutations in clovers include spade-like shaped leaves or a dotted rusty color on the leaves. Trifolium repens "Good Luck" is a cultivar which has three, four, or five green, dark-centered leaflets per leaf. Other plants may be mistaken for, or misleadingly sold as, "4-leaf clovers"; for example, Oxalis tetraphylla is a species of wood sorrel with leaves resembling

5025-462: The white clover ; beating the previous record, a 56-leaf clover (of the same species) found by Shigeo Obara of Hanamaki city, Iwate prefecture , Japan, on 10 May 2009. Both men obtained clovers with such a number of leafleats through crossbreeding cloverplants with a high rate of clovers with an abnormal number of leaflets, causing that, on average, cloverplants generated clovers with a higher number of leaflets in each generation. Shigeo Obara used

5100-637: The white-clover genome, were reported in the July/August 2010 edition of Crop Science , published by the Crop Science Society of America. The other leaf traits, the red fleck mark and red midrib, a herringbone pattern that streaks down the center of each leaflet in a bold red color, were mapped to nearby locations, resolving a century-old question as to whether these leaf traits were controlled by one gene or two separate genes. White clover has many genes that affect leaf color and shape, and

5175-555: The works of W. B. Yeats for examples). A recorded Christian belief of the 17th century cast all fairies as demons. This perspective grew more popular with the rise of Puritanism among the Reformed Church of England (See: Anglicanism ). The hobgoblin , once a friendly household spirit, became classed as a wicked goblin. Dealing with fairies was considered a form of witchcraft, and punished as such. In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream , Oberon , king of

5250-418: Was kept in gardens because it was "good for the purples in children or others". A 2017 survey of approximately 5.7 million clovers in six European countries found the frequency of 4-leaf clovers to be about 5000 to 1 (one 4-leaf clover for every ~5000 normal 3-leaf clovers), twice the commonly stated probability of 10,000 to 1. According to this survey, the frequency of a 5-leaf clover is ~24,400 to 1, and of

5325-603: Was later refuted by other authors (See: The Triumph of the Moon , by Ronald Hutton ). This contentious environment of thought contributed to the modern meaning of 'fairies'. One belief held that fairies were spirits of the dead. This derived from many factors common in various folklore and myths: same or similar tales of both ghosts and fairies; the Irish sídhe , origin of their term for fairies, were ancient burial mounds; deemed dangerous to eat food in Fairyland and Hades ;

5400-538: Was left alone in Scotland, though it prevented a road from being widened for seventy years. Other actions were believed to offend fairies. Brownies were known to be driven off by being given clothing, though some folktales recounted that they were offended by the inferior quality of the garments given, and others merely stated it, some even recounting that the brownie was delighted with the gift and left with it. Other brownies left households or farms because they heard

5475-573: Was only able to change their bodies to two palm trees. The tale was one of many from d'Aulnoy's pen to be adapted to the stage by James Planché , as part of his Fairy Extravaganza . He used it as a basis for his work The Yellow Dwarf, and The King of the Gold Mines . Mary Diana Dods wrote a version of the story for her book Tales of the Wild and the Wonderful (1825). Fairy A fairy (also fay , fae , fey , fair folk , or faerie )

5550-423: Was to provide an essential link between the energy of the sun and the plants of Earth, describing them as having no clean-cut shape ... small, hazy, and somewhat luminous clouds of colour with a brighter sparkish nucleus. "That growth of a plant which we regard as the customary and inevitable result of associating the three factors of sun, seed, and soil would never take place if the fairy builders were absent." For

5625-519: Was used to represent: an illusion or enchantment; the land of the Faes; collectively the inhabitants thereof; an individual such as a fairy knight. Faie became Modern English fay , while faierie became fairy , but this spelling almost exclusively refers to one individual (the same meaning as fay ). In the sense of 'land where fairies dwell', archaic spellings faery and faerie are still in use. Latinate fae , from which fairy derives,

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