Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Vinca minor
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Vinca at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vinca minor
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Vinca minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Vinca minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 156-04-001:
Vinca minor FAMILY Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Vinca minor
COMMON NAME:
Common Periwinkle, Myrtle Vinca
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_vimi2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0403j_18
March Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0403q_08
March Greenville County SC
Churchyard or cemetery
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmvminor_and4
March Anderson County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_134
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Flowers 2-3cm across, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_136
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm150407_137
April Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves coriaceous, evergreen, elliptic; margins not ciliate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Vinca minor
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vinca minor
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Vinca minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Vinca minor
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 156-04-001:
Vinca minor
FAMILY
Apocynaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Vinca minor
1639
Herbaceous vine (trailing); Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, around old house sites and especially old cemeteries, persistent and spreading from cultivation, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- SC Native Plant Society
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Blue-violet
Radially symmetrical
5-merous
5-lobed salverform corolla
5 stamens
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Paired follicles
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p197
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p076
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p121
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p256
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p426
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p189
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p225
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p18
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p375
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p126
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".