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{{Otheruses}}
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Vinca''
| image = Vinca major1.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Giant Steps Periwinkle (''Vinca major'') plant
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| genus = '''''Vinca'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Vinca balcanica]]''<br />
''[[Vinca difformis]]''<br />
''[[Vinca herbacea]]''<br />
''[[Vinca major]]''<br />
''[[Vinca minor]]''
}}
'''''Vinca''''' (from [[Latin]] ''vincire'' "to bind, fetter") is a genus of five species in the family [[Apocynaceae]], native to [[Europe]], northwest [[Africa]] and southwest [[Asia]]. The common name, shared with the related genus ''[[Catharanthus]]'', is '''Periwinkle'''.
[[Image:Vinca major0.jpg|left|thumb|Large Periwinkle (''Vinca major'') flower]]
They are [[subshrub|subshrubs]] or [[herbaceous]], and have slender trailing stems 1-2 m (3-6 feet) long but not growing more than 20-70 cm (8-30 inches) above ground; the stems frequently take root where they touch the ground, enabling the plant to spread widely. The [[leaf|leaves]] are opposite, simple broad lanceolate to ovate, 1-9 cm (0.25-3.5 inches) long and 0.5-6 cm (0.25-2.25 inches) broad; they are [[evergreen]] in four species, but [[deciduous]] in the herbaceous ''[[Vinca herbacea|V. herbacea]]'', which dies back to the root system in winter.
The [[flower]]s, produced through most of the year, are salverform (like those of ''[[Phlox]]''), simple, 2.5-7 cm (1-3 inches) broad, with five usually violet (occasionally white) petals joined together at the base to form a tube. The [[fruit]] consists of a group of divergent [[follicle (fruit)|follicles]]; a dry fruit which is [[dehiscent]] along one rupture site in order to release seeds.
==Cultivation and uses==
Two species, the Small Periwinkle ''[[Vinca minor|V. minor]]'' and the Large Periwinkle ''[[Vinca major|V. major]]'', are very popular [[ornamental plant]]s in [[garden]]s, grown for dense evergreen ground cover and their delicate violet flowers. ''V. major'' has broader leaves with a hairy margin and larger flowers, is less cold hardy, and has twice as many chromosomes as ''V. minor''. A variegated selection of ''V. major'' is commonly cultivated. Both species are considered [[invasive weed]]s in parts of the [[United States]] and [[Australia]]. They do not respond to common herbicides and require hormone based sprays to control.
===Medical uses===
The chemotherapy drugs vincristine and vinblastine are derived from this plant.
==References==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Vinca&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Vinca'']
*[http://www.virtualflowers.com.au/annuals_vinca.asp Virtual Flowers Vinca]
*Blamey, M., & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Hodder & Stoughton.
*Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' 4: 664-665. Macmillan.
<references />
<gallery>
Image:Vinca major-minor leaves.jpg|''Vinca minor'' (above), ''Vinca major'' (below); leaves for comparison
Image:Vinca major-minor margins.jpg|''Vinca minor'' (above), ''Vinca major'' (below); leaf margins for comparison; note hairless margin of ''V. minor'', hairy margin of ''V. major''
</gallery>
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Vinca''
| image = Vinca major1.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Giant Steps Periwinkle (''Vinca major'') plant
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| genus = '''''Vinca'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''[[Vinca balcanica]]''<br />
''[[Vinca difformis]]''<br />
''[[Vinca herbacea]]''<br />
''[[Vinca major]]''<br />
''[[Vinca minor]]''
}}
'''''Vinca''''' (from [[Latin]] ''vincire'' "to bind, fetter") is a genus of five species in the family [[Apocynaceae]], native to [[Europe]], northwest [[Africa]] and southwest [[Asia]]. The common name, shared with the related genus ''[[Catharanthus]]'', is '''Periwinkle'''.
[[Image:Vinca major0.jpg|left|thumb|Large Periwinkle (''Vinca major'') flower]]
They are [[subshrub|subshrubs]] or [[herbaceous]], and have slender trailing stems 1-2 m (3-6 feet) long but not growing more than 20-70 cm (8-30 inches) above ground; the stems frequently take root where they touch the ground, enabling the plant to spread widely. The [[leaf|leaves]] are opposite, simple broad lanceolate to ovate, 1-9 cm (0.25-3.5 inches) long and 0.5-6 cm (0.25-2.25 inches) broad; they are [[evergreen]] in four species, but [[deciduous]] in the herbaceous ''[[Vinca herbacea|V. herbacea]]'', which dies back to the root system in winter.
The [[flower]]s, produced through most of the year, are salverform (like those of ''[[Phlox]]''), simple, 2.5-7 cm (1-3 inches) broad, with five usually violet (occasionally white) petals joined together at the base to form a tube. The [[fruit]] consists of a group of divergent [[follicle (fruit)|follicles]]; a dry fruit which is [[dehiscent]] along one rupture site in order to release seeds.
==Cultivation and uses==
Two species, the Small Periwinkle ''[[Vinca minor|V. minor]]'' and the Large Periwinkle ''[[Vinca major|V. major]]'', are very popular [[ornamental plant]]s in [[garden]]s, grown for dense evergreen ground cover and their delicate violet flowers. ''V. major'' has broader leaves with a hairy margin and larger flowers, is less cold hardy, and has twice as many chromosomes as ''V. minor''. A variegated selection of ''V. major'' is commonly cultivated. Both species are considered [[invasive weed]]s in parts of the [[United States]] and [[Australia]]. They do not respond to common herbicides and require hormone based sprays to control.
===Medical uses===
The chemotherapy drugs vincristine and vinblastine are derived from this plant.
==References==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Vinca&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Vinca'']
*[http://www.virtualflowers.com.au/annuals_vinca.asp Virtual Flowers Vinca]
*Blamey, M., & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Hodder & Stoughton.
*Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening'' 4: 664-665. Macmillan.
<references />
<gallery>
Image:Vinca major-minor leaves.jpg|''Vinca minor'' (above), ''Vinca major'' (below); leaves for comparison
Image:Vinca major-minor margins.jpg|''Vinca minor'' (above), ''Vinca major'' (below); leaf margins for comparison; note hairless margin of ''V. minor'', hairy margin of ''V. major''
</gallery>