Vinca major L., 1753

Common names

🇬🇧 Greater Periwinkle
🇫🇷 Pervenche élevée, Grande pervenche, Pervenche à grandes fleurs

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Superasterids
Clade: Asterids
Clade: Lamiids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Rauvolfioideae
Tribe: Vinceae
Subtribe: Vincinae
Genus: Vinca
Species: Vinca major

Presence

Introduced.

Conservation status

Red List (Metropolitan France): LC Least Concern

Notes

Possible confusion with V. minor L., 1753, which has smaller flowers and narrower leaves, while V. major has larger flowers and broader leaves.

Possible confusion with V. herbacea Waldst. & Kit., 1799, whose leaves are herbaceous, while those of V. major are coriaceous.

Sometimes used as an ornamental plant. Many cultivars exist, including ones with variegated leaves or different flower colors.

The following infraspecific taxa are accepted:

V. major subsp. balcanica (Pénzes) Kožuharov & Petrova, 1982;
V. major subsp. hirsuta (Boiss.) Stearn, 1932;
V. major subsp. major L., 1753, I.

Photographs

img/vinca-major.webp — Vinca major

img/vinca-major-2.webp — Vinca major

img/vinca-major-3.webp — Vinca major

img/vinca-major-4.webp — Vinca major - Leaves

img/vinca-major-5.webp — Vinca major - Leaf

Anomalies

img/vinca-major-anomaly.webp — Vinca major - Flower with 4 petals

Sources

Tison, J.M., & de Foucault, B. (2014). Flora Gallica : Flore de France (p. 372). Biotope.