Vinca major

The Birth Flower of April 10th

Location: Copilot
Location: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden
Location: Kiba Park
Location: Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

Flower name
Vinca major
Scientific name
Vinca major
Aliasツルギキョウ, ビンカ･マジョール, グレーター・ペリウィンクル, Bigleaf periwinkle, Periwinkle Vinca major, 蔓日々草, Greater Periwinkle, Vinca major, 蔓桔梗, ビンカマジョール
Place of originSouthern Europe and North Africa (Mediterranean)
Place of floweringGarden
Flowering seasonJanuary, April, May, June, July, December
Language of flowersChildhood friend

What is Vinca major

Birth flowers for Feb 24, Apr 10

The Birth Flower of April 10th is ,Periwinkle（Vinca major）
A drop of flowers and poetry, one each day. From Kagiken's Flower Guide, we deliver words that bloom softly in your heart.
Aqua (Waterdrop Poetry),Copilot(Illustration), Editing & Translation: Mizuho @Kagiken.

Periwinkle(Vinca major),llustration by Copilot
Note: The Japanese text in the illustration has the same meaning as Aqua's water droplet poem.
Aqua is a water spirit.

💧Periwinkle's Waterdrop Poem: “Unraveling Blue”

by Aqua

The ribbon of my heart,
tied so tightly,
unravels in the wind
and sways gently.

That is surely
proof that I have
become kinder to myself.

Beyond the unraveling,
a new sky awaited me.
That blue
was free as far as the eye could see.

Drop’ｓ Memo
Inspired by the flower meanings of the Morning Glory—“Happy Memories” and “Childhood Friend”—
I spun these droplets around the themes of “gentle liberation” and “free blue” deep within the heart
!! 🌬️💧🌿

Periwinkle(Vinca major)

Periwinkle(scientific name: Vinca major) is a heat- and cold-tolerant, evergreen, climbing subshrub native to southern Europe and North Africa, belonging to the genus Vinca in the Apocynaceae family.
It is also known by the alternative names Tsuru-gikyo (Climbing Bellflower), Vinca major, Greater Periwinkle, Bigleaf Periwinkle, and Periwinkle Vinca major.

The plant grows to a height of 10–60 cm. The stems are initially erect but gradually spread out and grow horizontally.
The leaves are green, ovate, glossy, and entire, arranged in opposite pairs; there are also variegated varieties. Because the leaves are beautiful, the plant is also used as an ornamental foliage plant.

From April to July and from December to January, it continuously blooms with cylindrical, pale blue to purple or white flowers that are five-lobed at the tips.
There is a pentagonal groove in the center of the flower. The flowers wilt after one or two days, and new ones bloom one after another.
As it belongs to the Apocynaceae family, the entire plant is toxic, but it is used medicinally.

Common name: Periwinkle (Vinca major),
Scientific name: Vinca major,
Other names: Vine Campanula (Vine Bellflower), Vinca major, Greater Periwinkle, Bigleaf Periwinkle, Periwinkle Vinca major,
Classification: Kingdom Plantae, Angiosperms, Eudicots, Order Gentianales, Family Apocynaceae, Genus Vinca,
Native Range: Southern Europe to North Africa (Mediterranean coast),
Plant Height: 10–60 cm,
Leaf Shape: Oval, Leaf color: Green or variegated, Leaf margin: Entire, Leaf arrangement: Opposite,
Radially symmetrical flowers, Simple terminal inflorescence, Flowering period: April–July and December–January, Flowers: Cylindrical with 5-lobed tips, Flower diameter: 4–5 cm, Flower color: Pale blue to light purple or white,
Fruit: Cylindrical capsule.