Large periwinkle |
The large periwinkle has ovate or oblong-heart-shaped, glossy leaves and showy, usually blue-violet flowers
| Vinca major L.: | |
| Blooming period: | March–July, flowering for the second time in September/Oktober |
| Height: | 50–70 cm |
| Flowers: | bisexual, actinomorphic, Ø 30–50 mm, stamens: 5, styles: 1 |
| Corolla: | 5-lobed, mostly blue-violet |
| Sepals: | 5, fused at the base |
| Stem leaves: | opposite, ovoid |
Plants perennial, woody, semi-shrub.
Stem creeping, young shoots upright.
Leaves oval to heart-shaped, entire, leathery, glossy, up to 9 cm long, ciliated at the margins, petioles hairy.
Flowers in the leaf axils of young shoots, stalked, blue violet, light blue or red-purple, rarely pink or white.
The 5 petals are asymmetrically, the lobes twisted to left and are fused at the base to a small tube.
Calyx with narrowly triangular, ciliated teeth.
After insect pollination the ovary form a pair of narrowly cylindrical follicles with few seeds. The plant rarely bears fruits, but spreads mainly with their long shoots, which are rooting at the nodes.
There are several subspecies, varieties and cultivated forms of the large periwinkle. Plant poisonous, evergreen.
| Floral formula: |
| * K(5) C(5) A5 G(2) superior |
Occurrence:
Deciduous
and mixed forests, thickets, brooks. Prefers is slightly damp,
warm locations.
Distribution:
Originally
the Mediterranean, widespread as a garden plant, feral ornamental plant.