Periwinkle

(Vinca minor)

 

Color Photograph: Copyright Nearctica.com, Inc.

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Periwinkle (Vinca minor L.)

Alien: Native of Europe.

Identification: Flowers violet-blue with 5 petals, each petal truncate at the apex, and a light and dark star outlined in flower center. Flowers occurring singly, arising from the leaf axils. Seed pods thin, occurring in pairs, but seldom seen. Leaves glossy, evergreen. Leaves tapering toward the leaf stem. Plant creeping, living as low ground-cover.

Distribution: Throughout eastern North America with scattered localities west of the Mississippi River.

Habitat: Periwinkle is a cultivated plant used as a ground cover in yards and gardens, but readily escapes and is commonly found in suburban wooded areas.

Flowering period: March to June.

Similar Species: The closely related European species Vinca major (not treated here) also escapes from gardens and yards. Vinca major has larger flowers and the leaves are broad at the base, not tapered.

Periwinkle (Vicia minor)

Similar Species:

 

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