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Lesser Periwinkle

Lesser Periwinkle

Vinca minor

Identify the Lesser Periwinkle from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Common

Invasive alien species

Lesser Periwinkle is a low, evergreen groundcover that forms dense mats of dark, glossy leaves. In spring it shows single, star-like lavender‑blue flowers. It is widely grown in gardens and may also be seen in shady woods and thickets near plantings, where it can spread by creeping stems.

Did you know?

  • The “something blue” wedding custom in Britain is said to have come from its blue flowers.
  • Garden forms include white or double flowers and leaves with pale patterns.

About the species

Identification

A low, evergreen mat-former, usually 10–15 cm tall. Stems trail and root where they touch the ground; broken stems ooze white sap. Leaves grow in pairs, thick, shiny, dark green, oval with a pointed tip, about 1.5–4.5 cm long. Flowers appear singly on long stalks where a leaf meets the stem, flat and five-pointed, usually lavender‑blue (sometimes white or pinkish), about 2.5–3 cm wide. May form narrow pods after flowering. Compared to greater periwinkle, it has smaller leaves (around 3 cm) and smaller flowers, giving a neater look. Flowers in May–June.

Plant group

Dwarf shrubs

Habitat

herb-rich forest, yards and roadsides

Flowering

May–Jun

About the habitat

Naturally in moist, shady deciduous forests and thickets in temperate Europe. Thrives in partial shade and rich, moist soil; often under shrubs and along woodland edges. Frequently planted in gardens and can spread beyond plantings. Commonly grown; found as a garden remnant or escape across most of the country except Kainuu and Lapland, and regarded as established mainly in the south.

Sources

Photo: George Chernilevsky, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vinca minor 2011 G2.jpg

Text: Pinkka: Puutarhakasvitiede 1 - Perennat ja ryhmäkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.41650

Text: Pinkka: Suomen puuvartiset - Koppisiemeniset. Lähteet: Väre, H., Saarinen, J., Kurtto, A. & Hämet-Ahti, L. (toim.) 2021: Suomen puu- ja pensaskasvio. 3. täysin uudistettu p. – Publications of the Finnish Dendrological Society 10: 1–552 s., CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.41650

Text: Pinkka: A Pohjolan kasveja - Tanacetum-Vaccinium, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.41650

Text: FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.41650

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikkutalvio

See also