Lesser Periwinkle

Vinca minor

Description and biology 9

  • Plant: vine-like erect or trailing groundcover; mostly evergreen; stems slender.
  • Leaves: opposite, dark green, glossy, oval to lance-shaped, thick-textured; may be variegated.
  • Flowers, fruits and seeds: flower blue, lavender or white, about 1 in. across, five petals blunt at tip, arranged in spiral; springtime; no fruits or seeds typically.
  • Spreads: vegetatively through rhizomes.
  • Look-alikes: may be confused with several close relatives of this plant, including bigleaf periwinkle (Vinca major), imported from Europe, and Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), native only to Madagascar, both also invasive in natural areas in the mid-Atlantic and other parts of the United States; and winter creeper (Euonymus fortunei).

Prevention and control 10

Periwinkle can be pulled by hand, dug up or raked up, being sure to remove underground portions. Where appropriate, mowing can be used to cut plants back but will likely have to be repeated regularly. Mowing followed soon after by application of a systemic herbicide would improve control greatly.

Description 11

Herbs perennial. Flowering stems to 20 cm. Leaf blade oblong, ovate, or elliptic, 1-4.5 X 0.5-2.5 cm, base rounded or cuneate, margin not ciliate. Pedicel 1-1.5 cm. Sepals narrowly elliptic, 3-5 mm. Corolla lilac-blue, tube 0.9-1.1 cm, limb 2.5-3 cm in diam., lobes obliquely truncate. Filaments longer than anthers; anthers puberulent at apex. Follicles erect. Fl. May. 2n = 46.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) edgeplot, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/edgeplot/16840529975/
  2. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/JCS-Vinca-minor-64890.JPG
  3. (c) Erika Mitchell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erika Mitchell
  4. (c) JRobbins, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by JRobbins
  5. (c) Pyd32, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Kleine_maagdenpalm.jpg
  6. (c) Original uploader was Algirdas at lt.wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Vinca_minor_ziedai%2C_2006-05-03.jpg
  7. (c) G.Hagedorn, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Vinca_minor_flower_on_forest_floor_in_Italy_2.jpg
  8. (c) Albert H., some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Vinca_minor_20060511123821wp.jpg
  9. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22733989
  10. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22733990
  11. (c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/4982484

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