Top

Scientific Name
Family
Common Names
Origin
Cultivation
Naturalised Distribution
Habitat
Habit
Distinguishing Features
Stems and Leaves
Flowers and Fruit
Reproduction and Dispersal
Environmental Impact
Legislation
Management
Similar Species
Print Fact Sheet
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWYXZ

Click on images to enlarge

large infestation (Photo: Jackie Miles)

infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit, with a mixture of short upright flowering stems and longer creeping stems (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

creeping stem with paired leaves that have somewhat heart-shaped bases (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

upright stem with flower buds in the forks of the glossy leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

flowers (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

flower from side-on showing the flower tube and long and narrow sepals (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

close-up of flower with five spreading petal lobes (Photo: Greg Jordan)

close-up of seeds (Photo: Steve Hurst at USDA PLANTS Database)

re-growth from creeping underground stems (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

habit of Vinca major 'Variegata' (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

flowers and variegated leaves of Vinca major 'Variegata' (Photo: Sheldon Navie)

Vinca major

Scientific Name

Vinca major L.

Family

Apocynaceae

Common Names

band plant, big leaf periwinkle, big periwinkle, big-leaf periwinkle, bigleaf periwinkle, blue buttons, blue periwinkle, greater periwinkle, large periwinkle, large-leaved periwinkle, periwinkle, sorcerer's violet, vinca

Origin

Thought to be native to southern Europe (i.e. France, Spain, Italy, Albania and Yugoslavia) and possibly also northern Africa, though its exact native range is obscure.

Cultivation

A garden plant (i.e. ornamental) that is widely grown as a groundcover, particularly in temperate regions. A cultivar with variegated leaves (i.e. Vinca major 'Variegata') is also common in cultivation.

Naturalised Distribution

Widely naturalised in southern Australia (i.e. in eastern and southern New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern and eastern South Australia and in south-western Western Australia). Also naturalised on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, and occasionally naturalised in the cooler parts of south-eastern Queensland.

Widely naturalised overseas, including in the Mediterranean region, North America (i.e. Canada and the USA) and New Zealand.

Habitat

This species prefers shaded habitats and is a weed of urban bushland, open woodlands, watercourses (i.e. riparian areas), roadsides, gardens, disturbed sites and waste areas in temperate and occasionally also sub-tropical regions.

Habit

A long-lived (i.e. perennial) herbaceous plant growing up to 0.5 m tall. Its aboveground stems are mostly creeping or trailing and can form mats of vegetation up to 10 m or more across. However, short upright flowering stems are also produced.

Distinguishing Features

Stems and Leaves

The stems sometimes develop roots (i.e. adventitious roots) where they come into contact with the soil (i.e. they are stoloniferous) and creeping underground stems (i.e. rhizomes) are also produced. These green slender stems are hairless (i.e. glabrous) and have a milky sap (i.e. white latex).

The oppositely arranged leaves are borne on stalks (i.e. petioles) 5-20 mm long. These leaves (1.5-9 cm long and 1.5-6 cm wide) are egg-shaped in outline (i.e. ovate) or almost round (i.e. orbicular) in shape with rounded or slightly heart-shaped (i.e. sub-cordate) bases. Their upper surfaces are glossy green in nature, while their undersides are paler and duller in appearance. They have entire margins and pointed or rounded tips (i.e. acute to obtuse apices). Both leaf surfaces are mostly hairless (i.e. glabrous), however there are some fine hairs along the leaf margins (i.e. they are ciliate).

Flowers and Fruit

The tubular flowers (3-6 cm across) are usually borne singly, in the upper leaf forks, on stalks (i.e. peduncles) 2-6 cm long. These flowers have five long and narrow sepals (6-17 mm long), which are hairy (i.e. pubescent), and have pointed tips (i.e. acuminate or subulate apices). The petals are fused together at the base into a tube (i.e. corolla tube) 13-18 mm long and have five spreading blue, mauve, violet or purple petal lobes (13-25 mm long). Each flower also has five stamens, which are attached to the inside of the corolla tube, and an ovary topped with a style and stigma. Flowering occurs throughout the year, but mainly during spring and summer.

The elongated fruit (i.e. follicles) are often slightly curved and are usually borne in pairs. These fruit (3.5-5 cm long and up to 4 mm wide) are round in cross-section and taper to a pointed tip (i.e. they are cylindrical or fusiform). They turn from green to brown as they mature, contain 1-10 seeds, and may be produced throughout the year. The flattened, hairless seeds (7-8 mm long) are oval (i.e. elliptic) in shape and grooved on one side.

Reproduction and Dispersal

This species sometimes reproduces by seed, but more often it spreads vegetatively via its creeping underground and aboveground stems (i.e. rhizomes and stolons).

These stems enable plants to spread laterally and cover large areas. Longer distance dispersal can occur when stem segments and seeds are spread by water, in contaminated soil, or in dumped garden waste.

Environmental Impact

Blue periwinkle (Vinca major) is regarded significant environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, the ACT and Tasmania. During a recent survey, it was also listed as a priority environmental weed in six Natural Resource Management regions.

Legislation

This species is declared under legislation in the following states and territories:

Management

For information on the management of this species see the following resources:

Similar Species

Blue periwinkle (Vinca major) may be confused with lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor). However, these two species can be differentiated from each other by the following differences: