VINCA MAJOR subsp. MAJOR

Family:- APOCYNACEAE

Common Names:- Greater periwinkle

Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Vinca (L) A name used by the Roman philosopher Pliny, derived from

the Latin vinculum, to overcome.

Major (L) Larger, greater, bigger.

General description:- Short to medium, spreading, evergreen subshrub, with long

arching or trailing stems, often rooting down at the tip.

Stems:-

a) Up to 100 cm.

b) ascending in the lower part, then arching or procumbent.

Leaves:-

a) 2·5-9 x 2-6 cm.

b) opposite, mostly ovate or broadly ovate (rarely lanceolate).

c) margins fringed with hairs (ciliate) of 0·1-1 mm.

d) shiny bright green, evergreen.

Flowers:-

1) Flowering stems (pedicels):

a) up to 30 cm.

b) shorter than the subtending leaves.

2) Calyx-lobes:

a) 7-17 mm.

b) very narrowly triangular, the margins densely ciliate with hairs 0·5-1 mm.

3) Corolla-tube:

a) 12-15 mm.

b) limb 30-50 mm diam.

c) lobes obliquely truncate.

d) usually bluish-purple.

Fruit:-

1) Seeds:

a) hairless (glabrous).

Key features:-

1) Leaves up to 9 x 6 cm.

2) Flowering stems up to 30 cm.

3) Hairs of calyx 0·5-1 mm.

Habitat:- Mostly in and around villages, in damp, shady, ruderalized habitats,

0-1100 m.

Distribution:-Throughout Greece, but scarcely native. - Probably originating in the

W & C Mediterranean region, widely cultivated as an ornamental and naturalized in

many areas. Fairly widespread but scarce on Crete.

Flowering time:- Mid-March to early June.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton