Vincas, Periwinkles (Vinca spp.)

Taxonomy

Domain	Eukarya
Kingdom	Plantae
Phylum	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Superorder	Asteranae
Order	Gentianales
Family	Apocynaceae
Subfamily	Rauvolfioideae
Genus	Vinca

Scientific Name

Vinca major

Common Name

big periwinkle

Miller, J.H., E.B, Chambliss, N.J. Loewenstein. 2010. A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests. General Technical Report SRS-119. Asheville, NC. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 126 p.

Plant

Evergreen to semi-evergreen vines, somewhat woody, trailing or scrambling to 3 feet (1 m) long and upright to 1 foot (30 cm). Violet pinwheel-shaped flowers.

Stem

Slender (common periwinkle) to stout (bigleaf periwinkle), succulent becoming somewhat woody (tough to break) with flowering branches erect and jointed at axils. Hairless and smooth. Dark green at base to light green upward with a reddish tinge.

Leaves

Opposite. Glossy and hairless, somewhat thick, with margins slightly rolled under. Common periwinkle narrow elliptic, 0.8 to 1.8 inches (2 to 4.5 cm) long and 0.4 to 1 inch (1 to 2.5 cm) wide, with petioles 0.1 inch (1 to 3 mm) long. Bigleaf periwinkle heart shaped to somewhat triangular to elliptic, 1.5 to 2.5 inches (4 to 6 cm) long and 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) wide, with petioles 0.2 to 0.4 inch (5 to 10 mm) long. Blades dark green with whitish lateral- and mid-veins above and lighter green with whitish midveins beneath. Some varieties variegated.

Flowers

March to May (sporadically May to September). Axillary, usually solitary. Violet to blue lavender (to white), with 5 petals radiating pinwheel-like at right angles from the floral tube. Common periwinkle 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide with a 0.3- to 0.5-inch (8- to 12-mm) long tube. Bigleaf periwinkle 1.5 to 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) wide with a 0.6- to 0.8-inch (1.5- to 2-cm) long tube. Five slender lanceolate sepals, about 0.4 inch (1 cm) long, hairy margined.

Fruit and seeds

May to July. Slender, cylindrical fruit to 2 inches (5 cm) long. Becoming dry and splitting to release 3 to 5 infertile seeds.

Ecology

Found around old homesite plantings and scattered in open to dense canopied forests. Form mats and extensive infestations, even under forest canopies, by vines rooting at nodes.

Resembles

Resembles partridgeberry (Mitchella repens L.), which has cordate leaves, twin white flowers, and red berries. Also may resemble yellow jessamine [Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) W.T. Aiton], which has wider spaced leaves and reddish stems, often white waxy. Also resembles winter creeper [Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Maz.], which has stout light-green vines, leathery leaves, and no showy flowers.

History and use

Introduced from Europe in 1700s. Ornamental ground cover, commonly sold and planted by gardeners.

Distribution

Found throughout the region with scattered dense infestations in every State.

Management strategies

Do not plant. Remove prior plantings, and control sprouts and seedlings. Bag and dispose of plants in a dumpster or burn.
Treat when new plants are young.
Mowing treatments or injury of the leaves by a string trimmer immediately prior to herbicide spraying improves control with herbicides lacking soil activity.
Burning treatments are suspected of having minimal effect.

Recommended control procedures

Thoroughly wet all leaves (until runoff) with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant (July to October for successive years): Tordon 101* ‡ as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix) or Tordon K* ‡ as a 2-percent solution (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix); or in spring when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired before stands become dense with new growth, Garlon 4 as a 4-percent solution (1 pint per 3-gallon mix); or during the growing season, repeatedly apply Garlon 4 or a glyphosate herbicide as a 2-percent solution in water (8 ounces per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant. In winter, herbicide treatments should be limited to warm days.

* Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.

‡ When using Tordon herbicides, rainfall must occur within 6 days after application for needed soil activation. Tordon herbicides are restricted use pesticides.

Images

Bigleaf periwinkle: April	Common periwinkle leaves, Bigleaf periwinkle leaves: May	Bigleaf periwinkle: April	Bigleaf periwinkle: March
Common periwinkle flower, Bigleaf periwinkle flower: Summer

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