Shamrock
The
shamrock is a three-leaved
clover,
Trifolium repens. According to what the
Oxford English Dictionary calls "a late tradition", the plant was used by
Saint Patrick to illustrate the doctrine of the
Trinity. It has subsequently become a national symbol of
Ireland. The word comes from
seamróg, the Irish name for the plant.
For other meanings of the term shamrock see shamrock (disambiguation)