Vinca minor

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Vinca minor
Vinca minor Nashvillle.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Vinca
Species:
V. minor
Binomial name
Vinca minor
L.

Vinca minor (common names lesser periwinkle [1] or dwarf periwinkle) is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, native to central and southern Europe, from Portugal and France north to the Netherlands and the Baltic States, east to the Caucasus, and also southwestern Asia in Turkey. Other vernacular names used in cultivation include small periwinkle, common periwinkle, and sometimes in the United States, myrtle or creeping myrtle. [2]

Contents

Leaf margins for comparison; Vinca minor above, Vinca major below; note hairless margin of V. minor, hairy margin of V. major. Scale in mm. Vinca major-minor margins.jpg
Leaf margins for comparison; Vinca minor above, Vinca major below; note hairless margin of V. minor, hairy margin of V. major. Scale in mm.

Description

Vinca minor is a trailing subshrub, spreading along the ground and rooting along the stems to form large clonal colonies and occasionally scrambling up to 40 centimetres (16 in) high but never twining or climbing. The leaves are evergreen, opposite, 2–4.5 centimetres (0.79–1.77 in) long and 1–2.5 centimetres (0.39–0.98 in) broad, glossy dark green with a leathery texture and an entire margin.

The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils and are produced mainly from early spring to mid summer but with a few flowers still produced into the autumn; they are violet-purple (pale purple or white in some cultivated selections), 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.18 in) diameter, with a five-lobed corolla. The fruit is a pair of follicles 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) long, containing numerous seeds.

The closely related species Vinca major is similar, but larger in all parts, and also has relatively broader leaves with a hairy margin.

Cultivation

Ground cover with dense growth Vinca minor patch MN 2007.JPG
Ground cover with dense growth
Vinca minor in castle ruins Vinca minor in Latvia.jpg
Vinca minor in castle ruins

The species is commonly grown as a groundcover in temperate gardens for its evergreen foliage, spring and summer flowers, ease of culture, and dense habit that smothers most weeds. It was once commonly planted in cemeteries in parts of the Southern United States and naturalized periwinkle may indicate the presence of graves whose other markers have disappeared. [3]

Invasiveness

It is considered an invasive species [4] [5] [6] in some areas of the United States, primarily because of its ability to form dense and extensive mats along the forest floor, displacing native herbaceous and woody plant species.

The species has few pests or diseases outside its native range and is widely naturalized as a result. Invasion can be restricted by removal of rooting stems in spring. Once established, it is difficult to eradicate, as its waxy leaves shed most water-based herbicide sprays. However, spraying with glyphosate easily kills the plant in 2-3 weeks. Removal involves cutting, followed by immediate application of concentrated glyphosate or triclopyr to the cut stems. Repeated chemical treatments may be necessary, along with digging up the roots where feasible.

Cultivars

Cv. 'Argenteovariegata' Vinca minor 'Argenteovariegata' Barwinek pospolity 2017-10-15 01.jpg
Cv. ‘Argenteovariegata’

There are numerous cultivars, with different flower colours and variegated foliage. Many have a less vigorous habit than the species, and are therefore more suitable for smaller gardens. The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:- [7]

Medicinal use: chemical constituents

Vinca minor contains more than 50 alkaloids, including vincamine. [13] Other alkaloids include reserpine, rescinnamine, akuammicine, majdine, vinerine, ervine, vineridine, tombozine, vincamajine, vincanine, vincanidine, [14] vinburnine, apovincamine, vincaminol, desoxyvincaminol, [15] vincorine [16] and perivincine. [17]

Vinpocetine (brand names: Cavinton, Intelectol; chemical name: ethyl apovincaminate) is a semisynthetic derivative alkaloid of vincamine.

Colour

The colour name periwinkle is derived from the flower.

Related Research Articles

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<i>Catharanthus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Catharanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. Like the genus Vinca, they are known commonly as periwinkles. There are eight known species. Seven are endemic to Madagascar, though one, C. roseus, is widely naturalized around the world. The eighth species, C. pusillus, is native to India and Sri Lanka. The name Catharanthus comes from the Greek for "pure flower".

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<i>Berberis</i> Genus of flowering plants representing the barberry family

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<i>Prunus cerasifera</i> Species of plum

Prunus cerasifera is a species of plum known by the common names cherry plum and myrobalan plum. It is native to Southeast Europe and Western Asia, and is naturalised in the British Isles and scattered locations in North America. Also naturalized in parts of SE Australia where it is considered to be a mildly invasive weed of bushland near urban centers. P. cerasifera is believed to one of the parents of the Cultivated Plum, Prunus domestica perhaps crossing with the sloe, Prunus spinosa, or perhaps the sole parent. This would make it a parent of most of the commercial varieties of plum in the UK and mainland Europe - Victoria, greengages, bullace etc.

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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.

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<i>Lavandula angustifolia</i> Species of plant

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<i>Catharanthus roseus</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae

Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is native and endemic to Madagascar, but is grown elsewhere as an ornamental and medicinal plant, and now has a pantropical distribution. It is a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat cancer. It was formerly included in the genus Vinca as Vinca rosea.

<i>Berberis thunbergii</i> Species of plant

Berberis thunbergii, the Japanese barberry, Thunberg's barberry, or red barberry, is a species of flowering plant in the barberry family Berberidaceae, native to Japan and eastern Asia, though widely naturalized in China and North America, where it has become a problematic invasive in many places, leading to declines in species diversity, increased tick habitat, and soil changes. Growing to 1 m tall by 2.5 m broad, it is a small deciduous shrub with green leaves turning red in the autumn, brilliant red fruits in autumn and pale yellow flowers in spring.

<i>Vinca</i> alkaloid

Vinca alkaloids are a set of anti-mitotic and anti-microtubule alkaloid agents originally derived from the periwinkle plant Catharanthus roseus and other vinca plants. They block beta-tubulin polymerization in a dividing cell.

<i>Sambucus nigra</i> Species of flowering plant in the moschatel family Adoxaceae

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<i>Vinca major</i> Species of vine

Vinca major, with the common names bigleaf periwinkle, large periwinkle, greater periwinkle and blue periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to the western Mediterranean. Growing to 25 cm (10 in) tall and spreading indefinitely, it is an evergreen perennial, frequently used in cultivation as groundcover.

<i>Vinca herbacea</i> Species of plant

Vinca herbacea, with common name herbaceous periwinkle, is a flowering plant native to eastern and southeastern Europe, from Austria south to Greece, and east to the Crimea, and also in northern Western Asia, in the Caucasus and Alborz mountains.

<i>Buxus sempervirens</i> Species of flowering plants in the box family

Buxus sempervirens, the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Buxus, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco, and east through the northern Mediterranean region to Turkey. Buxus colchica of western Caucasus and B. hyrcana of northern Iran and eastern Caucasus are commonly treated as synonyms of B. sempervirens.

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<i>Coleus scutellarioides</i> Species of flowering plant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vincaminol</span> Chemical compound

Vincaminol (C20H26N2O2) is a chemical that is a part of the Vinca alkaloid group, which were discovered in the 1950s by a Canadian scientist and are derived from Vinca minor (periwinkle). Vincaminol is not as well known as some of the other Vinca alkaloids such as vinblastine, vinorelbine, vincristine, and vindesine, which are the four main, medically useful Vinca alkaloids.

<i>Delphinium elatum</i> Species of plant

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References

  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. Foster, Rachel. "So Many Myrtles — Unraveling the confusion and contradiction". Archived from the original on April 12, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  3. Hobbs, Holly (2012-11-20). "Preservation group discovers Fairfax County's past as it cleans up graves". Washington Post.
  4. "common periwinkle: Vinca minor (Gentianales: Apocynaceae): Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States". www.invasiveplantatlas.org. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  5. "Texas Invasives". www.texasinvasives.org. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  6. "Periwinkle (Vinca Minor)". Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia. 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
  7. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 107. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  8. "Vinca minor Argenteovariegata". RHS . Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  9. "Vinca minor Atropurpurea". RHS. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  10. "Vinca minor 'Azurea Flore Pleno'". RHS. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  11. "Vinca minor 'Bowles's Variety'". RHS. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  12. "Vinca minor 'Ralph Shugert'". RHS. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  13. Khanavi, M.; Pourmoslemi, S.; Farahanikia, B.; Hadjiakhoondi, A.; Ostad, S. N. (2010). "Cytotoxicity ofVinca minor". Pharmaceutical Biology. 48 (1): 96–100. doi: 10.3109/13880200903046187 . PMID   20645762. S2CID   42993549.
  14. Tulyaganov, T. S.; Nigmatullaev, A. M. (2000). "Alkaloids of Vinca minor". Chemistry of Natural Compounds. 36 (5): 540. doi:10.1023/A:1002820414086. S2CID   45597272.
  15. Smeyers, Y. G.; Smeyers, N. J.; Randez, J. J.; Hernandez-Laguna, A.; Galvez-Ruano, E. (1991). "A structural and pharmacological study of alkaloids of Vinca Minor". Molecular Engineering. 1 (2): 153. doi:10.1007/BF00420051. S2CID   93210480.
  16. Yasui, Y.; Kinugawa, T.; Takemoto, Y. (2009). "Synthetic studies on vincorine: Access to the 3a,8a-dialkyl-1,2,3,3a,8,8a-hexahydropyrrolo\2,3-b]indole skeleton". Chemical Communications (28): 4275–7. doi:10.1039/b907210a. PMID   19585045.
  17. Farnsworth, N. R.; Draus, F. J.; Sager, R. W.; Bianculli, J. A. (2006). "Studies on Vinca major L. (Apocynaceae) I. Isolation of perivincine". Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association. 49 (9): 589. doi:10.1002/jps.3030490908.

Further reading