572 FLOWERS OF GARDEN AND GREENHOUSE 



Vinca minor and V. major are included in the British 

 History. Ylora, but the latter is certainly only naturalised, and the 

 former is strongly suspected of having been introduced by man at an early 

 date. One of the reasons for this belief is the fact that the fruit is rarely 

 produced here, but that fact has not the value that some persons appear 

 to attribute to it as evidence. We do know that, however derived, Vincas 

 have been grown in our gardens for a respectable number of centuries, 

 and that about one hundred and forty years ago we introduced V. rosea 

 from the East Indies. V. herhacea, which is also seen in gardens, was 

 introduced from Hungary about eighty years since. 



YiNCA HERBACEA (herbaceous). Stems less shrubby 



than in the other species; bending downwards; unbranched. 



Leaves lance-shaped, blunt, about an inch long, the margins turned back 



and slightly fringed. Flowers purplish blue ; June and July. Hardy 



native of Eastern Europe. 



V. MAJOR (greater). Large Periwinkle ; Band-plant. Stems at first 

 erect, then lengthening and becoming prostrate, the tips rooting. 

 Leaves egg-shaped, 2 to 3 inches long, fringed. Flowers purplish blue ; 

 calyx -lobes as long as corolla-tube, fringed ; April and May. Native of 

 Europe and Xorth Africa. The var. elegant issima has the leaves 

 margined or blotched with creamy white. 



V. MIKOR (lesser). Stems trailing, tough, rooting at the joints : 

 branches erect. Leaves lance-shaped, not fringed. Flowers an inch 

 across, violet-blue ; calyx-lobes one-third of the length of corolla- tube, 

 unfringed : April, :May, and autumn. Plant half the size of V. major in 

 all its parts. There are several varieties: one with variegated leaves, 

 another with yellow leaves and white flowers, others with double flowers, 

 white or blue. 



V. ROSEA (rosy). Madagascar Periwinkle ; Old Maid. Stems all erect, 

 about 2 feet high. Leaves long, oval, slightly hairy. Flowers 1| inch 

 across, carmine with a violet tinge, or white; throughout spring and 

 summer. Native of the Tropics generally. Greenhouse or stove perennial, 

 cultivation "^^^ grower of hardy species of Vinca requires no 



instructions : the plants only need to be placed in any 

 ordinary garden soil, and thereafter they will take care of themselves. 

 A sloping bank suits them admirably, and their rooting stems will take 

 full possession of it rapidly. Cuttings root readily at any time. F. 

 rosea requires diflferent treatment. It is a tropical weed, and is usually 

 grown in the stove or warm greenhouse, where it flowers almost 

 continuously. To promote a bushy habit, the growing points should 

 be nipped out occasionally. They may be raised from seeds sown in a 



