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Vinca major

 
Vinca Major

 
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Vinca major
 
 
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Vinca major (commonly known as Large Periwinkle, Greater Periwinkle or Blue Periwinkle), is a flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
 native to southern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, from Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 and southern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 east to the western Balkans
Balkans

The Balkans is the historical name of a geographic subregion of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia....
, and also in northeastern Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
 and the western Caucasus
Caucasus

The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region located between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is home to Europe's highest mountain ....
. It is an evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 trailing vine, spreading along the ground and rooting along the stems to form patches of ground cover 2-5 m
M

M is the thirteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English language is spelled em ....
 across and scrambling up to 50-70 cm
CM

CM, Cm, cM or cm may stand for:...
 high.






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Vinca major (commonly known as Large Periwinkle, Greater Periwinkle or Blue Periwinkle), is a flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
 native to southern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, from Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 and southern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 east to the western Balkans
Balkans

The Balkans is the historical name of a geographic subregion of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia....
, and also in northeastern Turkey
Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
 and the western Caucasus
Caucasus

The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region located between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is home to Europe's highest mountain ....
. It is an evergreen
Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
 trailing vine, spreading along the ground and rooting along the stems to form patches of ground cover 2-5 m
M

M is the thirteenth letter of the modern Latin alphabet. Its name in English language is spelled em ....
 across and scrambling up to 50-70 cm
CM

CM, Cm, cM or cm may stand for:...
 high. The leaves
Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
 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
Petiole (botany)

In botany, the petiole is the small stalk attaching the leaf blade to the Plant stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem....
 1-2 cm long. The flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s are produced from early spring to autumn, violet-purple, 3-5 cm diameter, with a five-lobed corolla.

There are two subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
, 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
Vinca minor

Vinca minor is a plant native to central and southern Europe, from Portugal and France north to the Netherlands and the Baltic countries, and east to the Caucasus, and also in southwestern Asia in Turkey....
 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
Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s are available, with white to dark violet flowers and variegated foliage.