Family Apocynaceae (Dogbane family).
Lesser Periwinkle, Myrtle, Cemetery Vine—this creeper has many names. It’s one of the first things to bloom in the spring. It can be invasive, but it is a very tidy and polite invader. It has made itself at home all over the city. It persists indefinitely once it establishes itself, and spreads in shady areas too dim for other flowers. It also goes by the common names Myrtle and Cemetery Vine—the latter because its sober habits, dark leaves, and general indestructibility made it a favorite planting at cemeteries.
Gray describes the genus and the species:
VÍNCA L. PERIWINKLE.. Calyx-lobes acuminate. Corolla-tube funnel-form; the
limb salver-form. Stamens inserted below the throat; filaments short.
Style slender. Pods short-cylindric. Seeds rough. —Smooth trailing hardy
plants (or in the Tropics tender annuals) with evergreen firm leaves and
axillary flowers. (Ancient Latin name of uncertain derivation.)
V. minor L. (COMMON P., “MYRTLE.”) Spreading by creeping stems;
leaves glossy, ovate to oblong, 1.5-3 cm. long, flowers peduncled; corolla
blue, with truncate lobes. —Roadsides, etc., escaped from cultivation.
Apr.-June. (Introd. from Eu.)
