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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Vinca major''
| image = Vinca major0.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Vinca major'' leaves and flower
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Vinca]]''
| species = '''''V. major'''''
| binomial = ''Vinca major''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Vinca major''''' ('''Large Periwinkle''' or '''Greater Periwinkle'''), is a [[flowering plant]] native to southern [[Europe]], from [[Spain]] and southern [[France]] east to the western [[Balkans]], and also in northeastern [[Turkey]] and the western [[Caucasus]].
It is an [[evergreen]] trailing vine, spreading along the ground and rooting along the stems to form patches of ground cover 2-5 m across and scrambling up to 50-70 cm high. The [[leaf|leaves]] are opposite, 3-9 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, glossy dark green with a leathery texture and an entire but distinctly hairy margin, and a hairy [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]] 1-2 cm long. The [[flower]]s are produced from early spring to autumn, violet-purple, 3-5 cm diameter, with a five-lobed corolla.
There are two [[subspecies]], with geographically separate ranges:
*''Vinca major'' subsp. ''major''. Leaf petioles finely hairy, hairs short. Southern Europe.
*''Vinca major'' subsp. ''hirsuta'' (Boiss.) Stearn (syn. ''V. pubescens'' d'Urv.). Leaf petioles densely hairy, hairs longer. Caucasus, northeastern Turkey.
The closely related species ''[[Vinca minor]]'' is similar but smaller, with narrower, hairless leaves.
===Cultivation and uses===
''Vinca major'' is commonly grown in temperate gardens for its evergreen foliage, spring flowers, and vining habit. Several [[cultivar]]s are available, with white to dark violet flowers and variegated foliage.
==References==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Vinca&SPECIES_XREF=major&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Vinca major'' distribution]
*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.
==See also==
*[[Vincamine]]
*[[Vinpocetine]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Vinca major''
| image = Vinca major0.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''Vinca major'' leaves and flower
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Gentianales]]
| familia = [[Apocynaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Vinca]]''
| species = '''''V. major'''''
| binomial = ''Vinca major''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''''Vinca major''''' ('''Large Periwinkle''' or '''Greater Periwinkle'''), is a [[flowering plant]] native to southern [[Europe]], from [[Spain]] and southern [[France]] east to the western [[Balkans]], and also in northeastern [[Turkey]] and the western [[Caucasus]].
It is an [[evergreen]] trailing vine, spreading along the ground and rooting along the stems to form patches of ground cover 2-5 m across and scrambling up to 50-70 cm high. The [[leaf|leaves]] are opposite, 3-9 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, glossy dark green with a leathery texture and an entire but distinctly hairy margin, and a hairy [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]] 1-2 cm long. The [[flower]]s are produced from early spring to autumn, violet-purple, 3-5 cm diameter, with a five-lobed corolla.
There are two [[subspecies]], with geographically separate ranges:
*''Vinca major'' subsp. ''major''. Leaf petioles finely hairy, hairs short. Southern Europe.
*''Vinca major'' subsp. ''hirsuta'' (Boiss.) Stearn (syn. ''V. pubescens'' d'Urv.). Leaf petioles densely hairy, hairs longer. Caucasus, northeastern Turkey.
The closely related species ''[[Vinca minor]]'' is similar but smaller, with narrower, hairless leaves.
===Cultivation and uses===
''Vinca major'' is commonly grown in temperate gardens for its evergreen foliage, spring flowers, and vining habit. Several [[cultivar]]s are available, with white to dark violet flowers and variegated foliage.
==References==
*[http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Vinca&SPECIES_XREF=major&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: ''Vinca major'' distribution]
*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.
==See also==
*[[Vincamine]]
*[[Vinpocetine]]
