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Apocynaceae
Lesser Periwinkle
Vinca minor
Everlasting friendship and fidelity.
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Vinca
- Native to
- Central Europe, Southern Europe
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- ground cover
- Height
- 4-8 in
- Sunlight
- partial shade to full shade
- Soil
- moist, well-drained, adaptable
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 4-8
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- In the Middle Ages, it was called the 'sorcerer's violet' and was believed to ward off evil spirits.
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau associated it with his first love and wrote about it in his Confessions.
- The alkaloid vincamine extracted from it is used in medications to improve cerebral blood flow.
- It can become invasive in forested areas, forming dense mats that crowd out native wildflowers.
- Italian newlyweds once wove periwinkle into garlands as a symbol of their enduring bond.
Color meanings
0
everlasting friendship
1
fidelity
2
tender memories