Is a Shamrock a "clover"? No, it's an OXYALIS

from Michigan Live! website -- www.mlive.com -- media from Bay City, MI online periodical -- Fun fact of the day: a shamrock is not necessarily a clover. The plant colloquially known in the United States as a shamrock is a variety of oxalis. The specific variety sold as "lucky shamrocks" is Oxalis acetosella. Rosalie Keit Wescott would know, as the co-owner and manager of Keit's Greenhouse and Floral Center, 1717 S. Euclid Ave. on Bay City's East Side, where more than 600 of the traditional St. Patrick's Day plants are grown annually. "Shamrocks are always (associated) with St. Patrick's Day," Wescott said. In October and November, greenhouse staff plant small bulbs called crums to be ready by spring. Wescott said they mostly sell beginning about two weeks before St. Patrick's Day (March 17) through the holiday itself. Their small white flowers bloom around this time, but they are sold throughout the spring for their bright foliage, she said. Generally, the oxalis are grown as potted houseplants and are easy to grow and care for. Shamrocks prefer sun and soil that isn't too wet. When the plants seem to die down, Wescott said, the bulb itself is growing.