According to an old English tradition, a four-leaf clover brings good luck. Finding a four-leaf clover by chance brings the best luck of all. Five hundred years ago in England, people believed a four-leaf clover helped you see and talk to fairies.

Tradition says that each leaf on a clover represents a different quality. The first leaf represents hope. The second is for faith. The third is for love. The fourth is for luck, which is why a four-leaf clover is lucky.  A fifth leaf stands for money. Tradition does not say what a sixth or seventh leaf represents.

Clover is a member of the pea family and is a good source of protein. For this reason, clover makes very good food for cows. Different types of clover occur in all parts of the world. Clover has many uses. Traditional medicine uses clover in cough mixtures because the leaves contain tiny traces of morphine, a drug which helps you sleep.

There are many enthusiastic clover collectors all over the world. The world's most prolific clover collector is a man named Edward Martin from Alaska in North America. Mr Martin says he has over 160,000 four-leaf clovers in his collection. This is an extraordinary feat, as only one in 10,000 clovers has four leaves. The record for a clover with many leaves stands at 21.  A farmer in Japan found the 21-leaf clover in 2002.