Vinca
Sign in to saveVinca (; Latin: vincire "to bind, fetter") is an Old World genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus Catharanthus (and with the mollusc Littorina littorea). Some Vinca species are cultivated but have also spread invasively. Additionally, some species have medicinal uses. The most widespread species is Vinca minor.
AI overview
Vinca is a genus of flowering plants native to the Old World that includes species commonly called periwinkles, some of which are grown in gardens while others have spread invasively into wild areas. The plants have attracted human interest because certain species have been used medicinally, with Vinca minor being the most common species found today.
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Taxonomy · GBIF
GENUS
- KingdomPlantae
- PhylumTracheophyta
- ClassMagnoliopsida
- OrderGentianales
- FamilyApocynaceae
via GBIF · CC0
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Description
- Species
- Distribution and habitat
- Ecology
- Cultivation
- Medicinal uses
- References
- External links
Vinca (; Latin: vincire "to bind, fetter") is an Old World genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus Catharanthus (and with the mollusc Littorina littorea). Some Vinca species are cultivated but have also spread invasively. Additionally, some species have medicinal uses. The most widespread species is Vinca minor.
==Description== thumb|Vinca difformis in habitat, Cáceres, Spain Vinca plants are subshrubs or herbaceous, and have slender trailing stems long but not growing more than above ground; the stems frequently take root where they touch the ground, enabling the plant to spread widely. The leaves are opposite, simple broad lanceolate to ovate, long and broad; they are evergreen in four species, but deciduous in the herbaceous V. herbacea, which dies back to the root system in winter.