Vinca

Vinca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus Catharanthus (and also with the common seashore mollusc, Littorina littorea).

Description

Vinca plants are subshrubs or herbaceous, and have slender trailing stems 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) long but not growing more than 20–70 cm (8–30 in) above ground; the stems frequently take root where they touch the ground, enabling the plant to spread widely. They have opposite leaves, each 1–9 cm long and 0.5–6 cm broad. They produce solitary blue, violet, purple, or white flowers in the leaf axils. Each flower is 2–3 cm diameter, with a five-lobed corolla.

Species

The species include:

• Vinca difformis Pourr. – Intermediate Periwinkle
• Vinca erecta Regel & Schmalh. – Erect Periwinkle
• Vinca herbacea Waldst. & Kit. – Herbaceous Periwinkle
• Vinca major L. – Greater Periwinkle
• Vinca minor L. – Lesser Periwinkle
• Vinca soneri Koyuncu

Cultivation and uses

Vinca species are used as groundcover in garden landscapes and container gardens. They are also used in folk medicine, particularly in southeastern Europe, to treat diabetes, coughs, and constipation.

References

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External links

• Flora of China: Vinca
• Flora of Pakistan: Vinca
• Flora of Missouri: Vinca

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  Close-up of Vinca minor
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  Vinca difformis in bloom
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  Vinca spreading along a garden border