QUESTION Humberto Carlos Andrade, Sao Paulo, SP
ILLUSTRATES Juliana Caro
Because they are mutants.
In fact, the clover, which is common in Europe, North Africa and North and West Asia and the United States, has only one leaf, subdivided into leaflets. Most of them have three leaflets, and the scientific name itself indicates this: Trifolium repens.
+ Why do tree leaves fall in autumn?
+ What is the difference between mint and peppermint?
But on rare occasions, one out of four appears, probably because of a genetic mutation. Little is known about this anomaly. It’s just that science still hasn’t been able to locate the gene responsible for the extra leaflets (there could be more than four, including).
What has already been discovered is that the climate influences. When the temperature rises, in summer, the four-leaf clover is more common.
One last curiosity:
– For every 10,000 three-leaf clovers, one is a four-leaf clover
+ What is the largest carnivorous plant in the world?
+ Does the plant feel pain?
CONSULTANCY Fabio Pinheiro, professor at the Institute of Biosciences at Unesp, in Rio Claro, SP
SOURCES magazine Scientific American and University of Georgia (USA)