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Vinca minor L.

Creeping myrtle (en), Petite pervenche (fr), Violette de serpent (fr), Pervenche mineure (fr), Pervenche humble (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Apocynaceae > Vinca

Characteristics

Stems prostrate, mat-forming, trailing or creeping, glabrous or nearly so. Petioles 0.5-4 mm long, glandular, sometimes minutely ciliate. Lamina mostly 2-5 × 1-2 cm, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous or nearly so; base broadly cuneate or rounded; apex obtuse. Pedicels 1.7-3 cm long, very slender. Calyx 3-4 mm long; lobes broadly lanceolate, subacute. Corolla purple or violet with white central eye, usually double or semi-double; tube 7-8 mm long; limb 1.5-2 cm diam.; lobes obliquely obovate, truncate at apex. Anthers c. as wide as long, but most stamens transformed into petals. Follicles not seen.
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Herbs perennial. Flowering stems to 20 cm. Leaf blade oblong, ovate, or elliptic, 1-4.5 X 0.5-2.5 cm, base rounded or cuneate, margin not ciliate. Pedicel 1-1.5 cm. Sepals narrowly elliptic, 3-5 mm. Corolla lilac-blue, tube 0.9-1.1 cm, limb 2.5-3 cm in diam., lobes obliquely truncate. Filaments longer than anthers; anthers puberulent at apex. Follicles erect. Fl. May. 2n = 46.
Stems somewhat woody, trailing or scrambling, to 1 m, forming mats, the flowering branches ± erect; lvs glabrous, coriaceous, lance-elliptic, 3–5 cm, entire; cor-tube 8–12 mm, the limb 2–3 cm wide; 2n=46. Native of s. Europe, often escaped from cult. into roadsides and open woods in our range. Apr., May.
A spreading evergreen plant. It forms tight mats. It grows 20 cm high and spreads 1.5-3 m wide. The leaves are green and 5 cm long. The flowers are star shaped and violet blue. The flowers are smaller than Vinca major. They are 3 cm across.
Herb to 50 cm with long stoloniferous shoots.. Leaves ovate.. Flowers rich blue.
Life form perennial
Growth form
Growth support climber free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread barochory
Mature width (meter) 1.25 - 1.75
Mature height (meter) 0.2
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) 0.35
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Fields, woodland edges, copses and hedgerows. Ash and oak-hornbeam woods on better soils in central Europe.
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It is a temperate plant. The plant is hardy. It suits hardiness zones 4-9.
Light 2-7
Soil humidity 2-6
Soil texture 1-5
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

Uses environmental use medicinal ornamental
Edible seeds
Therapeutic use Astringent (unspecified), Bactericide (unspecified), Carminative (unspecified), Depurative (unspecified), Diarrhea (unspecified), Dysentery (unspecified), Eczema (unspecified), Emetic (unspecified), Hemostat (unspecified), Hypertension (unspecified), Lactogogue (unspecified), Menorrhagia (unspecified), Phthisis (unspecified), Scalp (unspecified), Scurvy (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Spasmolytic (unspecified), Tea (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Collyrium (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Piles (unspecified), Sedative (unspecified), Lactifuge (unspecified), Tumor(Uvula) (unspecified), Catarrh (unspecified), Homeopathy (unspecified), Alzheimer disease (unspecified), Anticoagulants (unspecified), Anticonvulsants (unspecified), Atherosclerosis (unspecified), Common cold (unspecified), Dementia (unspecified), Dizziness (unspecified), Dyspepsia (unspecified), Headache (unspecified), Hearing disorders (unspecified), Hypotension (unspecified), Leukemia, lymphoid (unspecified), Neuroprotective agents (unspecified), Tachycardia (unspecified), Vertebrobasilar insufficiency (unspecified), Vertigo (unspecified), Disorder of artery (unspecified)
Human toxicity toxic (root)
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings, divisions or seedlings.
Mode cuttings divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) 15 - 30
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 23
Germination luminosity dark
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -23
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Vinca minor habit picture by Alain Bigou (cc-by-sa)
Vinca minor habit picture by grutz (cc-by-sa)
Vinca minor habit picture by Paweł W (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Vinca minor leaf picture by Cath Ord (cc-by-sa)
Vinca minor leaf picture by Alain Bigou (cc-by-sa)
Vinca minor leaf picture by Jean-François Baudin (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Vinca minor flower picture by Les Fleurs de Marcelyne (cc-by-sa)
Vinca minor flower picture by Cath Ord (cc-by-sa)
Vinca minor flower picture by robidema (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Vinca minor world distribution map, present in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Canada, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Mexico, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United States of America, and South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:82701-1
WFO ID wfo-0000332792
COL ID 5BFGJ
BDTFX ID 71984
INPN ID 129470
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Pervinca heterophyla Pervinca repens Vinca acutiflora Vinca intermedia Vinca minor Pervinca procumbens Vinca ellipticifolia Vinca humilis Pervinca minor Vinca minor var. sabinka Vinca minor var. intermedia
WorldFloraDB 2024