Vinca minor (Myrtle)

Vinca minor L.

Myrtle, periwinkle, common periwinkle, creeping myrtle

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Gentianales	Gentians, coffee, gardenias, frangipani, many others
Family	Apocynaceae	Dogbane family
Genus	Vinca	From Latin vincio, “to bind,” a reference to the shoots
Species	minor	“Smaller”

About plant names...

Myrtle is a European native introduced to the United States in the 1700s, where it is used as an ornamental ground cover. It spreads quickly in some habitats and is sometimes considered an invasive.

Identification: Myrtle is only 6" (15 cm) high, a vine with dark, glossy evergreen leaves. It prefers the partial shade of forest floors, where it forms a nearly continuous mat. Leaves are elliptic in shape, with smooth edges, about 1" (2.5 cm) long. The natural plant has five-petaled blue-purple flowers about ½-¾" (1.3-1.9 cm) across. Cultivars come in shades of reddish purple or white.

From Britton, Nathaniel Lord, and Brown, Addison, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions, 1913, p. Vol. 3, p. 20, courtesy of the USDA PLANTS database.

Online References:

Vinca minor on www.carolinanature.com

Vinca minor on Perry’s Perennial Pages

Vinca minor on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Vinca minor on Invasive.org, Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health

Vinca minor at the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Vinca minor and Vinca major on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

4/13/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

5/23/2009 · West Fork of Oak Creek Trail, Arizona
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

4/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

Vinca minor description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

5/4/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

5/4/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 3 × 3½" (8.0 × 9 cm)

5/11/2021 · Harpswell Historic Park, Harpswell Garden Club, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

3/23/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 3½" (10.0 × 9.2 cm)

4/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 17 × 12" (44 × 29 cm)

4/14/2010 · Mt. Lebanon St., Pepperell, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

4/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 12" (27 × 29 cm)

Range:

About this map...