Brewer's: Calvary Clover

said to have sprung up in the track made by Pilate when he went to the cross to see his “title affixed” [Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews]. It is a common trefoil, probably a native of India or Turkey. Each of the three round leaves has a little carmine spot in the centre. In the daytime the three leaves of the trefoil form a sort of cross; and in the flowering season the plant bears a little yellow flower, like a “crown of thorns.” Julian tells us that each of the three leaves had in his time a white cross in the centre, and that the centre cross lasts visible longer than the crosses of the other two leaves. (See Christian Traditions.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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