Photographs: Co. Cork

Greater Periwinkle Vinca major Fincín mór Family: Apocynaceae Flowering: March-July. Evergreen undershrub. Garden escape. Solitary blue-violet flowers with white at base of petals and hairless calyx teeth. Flowers occasionally purple. The shiny green leaves are broad, lanceolate and stalked, the leaf edges with tiny hairs. A variegated form also occurs. Spreads widely by trailing, rooting stems. Height to 45cm Hedges, roadsides and waste ground, usually near habitation. Similar: Lesser Periwinkle, V. minor is prostrate with narrower leaves

Greater Periwinkle, Vinca major, Fincín mór