Bigleaf Periwinkle

Description:

Bigleaf Periwinkle is an herbaceous, perennial, rhizomatous and stoloniferous flowering plant in the genus Vinca belonging to the family Apocynaceae. Vinca major is an evergreen trailing vine, spreading along the ground and rooting along the stems to form dense masses of groundcover individually 2-5 m across and scrambling up to 50-70 cm high. The leaves are opposite, nearly orbicular at the base of the stems and lanceolate at the apex, 3-9 cm long and 2-6 cm broad, glossy dark green with a leathery texture and an entire but distinctly ciliate margin, and a hairy petiole 1-2 cm long. The flowers are hermaphrodite, axillary and solitary, violet-purple, 3-5 cm diameter, with a five-lobed corolla. The calyx surrounding the base of the flower is 10–17 millimetres (0.39–0.67 in) long with hairy margins. The flowering period extends from early spring to autumn.

Habitat:

Growing in an oak hammock near an old house spot at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. The area is moist and adjacent to constructed ponds from an old rice plantation.

Notes:

This plant is not native to the United States. Vinca major is a commonly grown ornamental plant in temperate gardens for its evergreen foliage, spring flowers, and groundcover or vine use. Like this one at the wildlife refuge, it can be locally invasive. Other common names include Large Periwinkle, Greater Periwinkle, and Blue Periwinkle