The Periwinkle or Apocynaceae family comprises of just one genus in the British Isles. This is the genus Vinca, which has 3 species.
None are native but have been in cultivation since ancient time.
We’ve had a very unusual and attractive variety flowering in our little garden throughout the winter and still now at the end of January 2026.
Lets have a look to see if there are any uses for this plant besides being ornamental!
Pictures with thanks to Matt Summers, Rudi Pilsel and Wikipedia contributers. Thanks are due and links are provided on the Scientific name of Plant Atlas Online from which I copied the habitat and other information. Also links for Wikipedia, Plants of the Future and other useful websites.
The Apocynaceae
Apocynaceae from Apocynum, Greek for “dog-away”, is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the Dogbane family, apparently because some taxa were used as dog poison!
Notable members of the family include Oleander, Dogbanes, Milkweeds, Hoya plants and Periwinkles. The family is native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members as well. There are 379 accepted genera in the world but only 1 genus in the British Isles:
Vinca spp.
Vinca ia a genus of the Old World and the common name Periwinkle is shared with the related genus Catharanthus as well as with the mollusc Littorina littorea.
The 3 Vinca species are evergreen garden and good groundcover plants. But especially the Greater and Intermediate Periwinkle which are much more vigorous, can become invasive in the wild with slender trailing stems up to 2 m long and rooting at the tips.
Vinca minor or Lesser Periwinkle (Archaeophyte)
An evergreen perennial herb, with procumbent vegetative stems, which root at the tips, widely grown in gardens and found naturalized in woodland, copses, plantations, scrub, hedgerows, shady roadside banks and verges, as well as on waste ground and refuse tips.
This species is similar to V. major but, being much smaller in leaf size as well as vigour and therefore less invasive, is more widely cultivated for ground cover in shady areas. It was grown in gardens in Britain by medieval times (Harvey, 1981). There was an increase in records in the latter half of the 20th century that has continued this century, probably due to a genuine increase as well as more systematic recording of garden escapes.
The native range of this species is Europe to Caucasus.
Vinca minor is a mat-forming evergreen shrub with trailing, rooting shoots and opposite pairs of small, glossy, dark green leaves. From mid-spring to late summer it produces violet-blue flowers to 3cm across.
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:
- ‘Argenteovariegata’ (leaves have creamy white margins)
- ‘Atropurpurea’ (burgundy-purple flowers)
- ‘Azurea Flore Pleno’ (double blue flowers)
- ‘Bowles’s Variety’ (violet-blue flowers: also known as ‘Bowles’s Blue’ and ‘La Grave’)
- ‘Ralph Shugert’
4 Vinca minor cultivars. Above: ‘Argenteovariegata’ (By Agnieszka Kwiecień) & ‘Cahill’ (By Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz . Below ‘Illumination’ (By Derek Ramsey in Chanticleer Garden) and white flowering ‘Alba’ (all from Wikipedia Commons).
Medicinal uses: (No self-medication is advised: please see a herbalist!)
Vinca minor contains more than 50 alkaloids, including vincamine.
It has many Medicinal Uses according to PFAF:
- The plant is sedative and tonic.
- It contains the alkaloid ‘vincamine’, which is used by the pharmaceutical industry as a cerebral stimulant and vasodilator.
- Since the discovery of vincamine in the leaves, the plant has been used herbally to treat arteriosclerosis and for dementia due to insufficient blood supply to the brain.
- The leaves are bitter, detergent and stomachic.
- Taken internally, they are used in the treatment of internal bleeding, heavy menstrual bleeding and nosebleeds.
- When crushed and applied to wounds they have astringent and healing properties.
- A mouthwash is used to treat gingivitis, sore throats and mouth ulcers.
- The root is antispasmodic and hypotensive. It is used to lower the blood pressure.
- A homeopathic remedy is made from the fresh leaves. It is used in the treatment of haemorrhages.
Vinca major or Greater Periwinkle (Neophyte)
A spreading evergreen perennial herb, with long trailing or arching stems that root at the tip, widely grown in gardens and found as a naturalized escape at the base of hedges, waste ground, refuse tips, disused railways, roadside verges, shaded banks and woodland. Often grown in shaded gardens, it can spread very effectively onto adjacent hedgebanks and under trees. It also occurs as a throw-out from garden waste.
V. major was being cultivated in Britain by 1596. It is widely grown as a ground-cover species in gardens, but its robust habit and vigorous growth means that it is frequently discarded, and often becomes well-established from garden waste in suitable habitats. It was recorded out of cultivation by 1677 (Oxfordshire). Its 10 km square distribution has increased markedly since the 1960s, possibly due in part to direct spread from gardens although, like many cultivated plants, it is also now better known due to the more systematic recording of garden escapes.
The native range of this species is S. Europe to Caucasus.
Vinca major is a vigorous evergreen sub-shrub forming a clump of erect stems bearing glossy ovate leaves and solitary violet-blue flowers. It is a good groundcover plant for its evergreen foliage and spring flowers. But best use for large gardens or even public parks, due to its vigour and spread!
Many cultivars are available, with differences in colour, such as white to dark violet flowers, and different patterns and colours of variegated foliage. The cultivar ‘Variegata’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Award of Garden Merit. These variegated cultivars are probably better to use as an ornamental due to being less vigorous than all green varieties.
It contains the following compounds: vinblastine, vincristine, vindesine and vinorelbine, which are used in chemotherapy medication to treat a number of types of cancer.
Vinca difformis or Intermediate Periwinkle
A spreading evergreen perennial herb, with long trailing or arching stems that root at the tip, occasionally grown in gardens and found as a naturalized escape on grassy banks, rough ground and roadside verges.
V. difformis had been introduced into cultivation in Britain by 1876, and is only occasionally grown in gardens. It was first recorded in the wild in 1984 (Kent, but without locality). Since 2000 it has been recorded more frequently, especially in south-western and southern Britain, and in the extreme south of Ireland, possibly due to the more systematic recording of alien species.
Vinca difformis ‘Jenny Pym‘ is an attractive, vigorous evergreen with an unique lilac-pink flower with white edges and centre. It has a long flowering season from September through to March!
The native range of this species is Azores, W. & Central Medit.
Except for its ornamental uses there isn’t more information found about other uses but it is most likely similar to the Greater and Lesser Periwinkle!
