APOCYNAGE.E-DOGBANE FAMILY 



VINCA. PERIWINKLE. TRAILING MYRTLE 



Vinca minor. 



Vinca, corrupted from pervinca, Pliny's name for periwinkle. 



A trailing evergreen perennial, common in country gardens, cemeteries, 

 and shady places. Many horticultural varieties, some with variegated 

 foliage. Native to Europe. April, May. 



Stem. — ^Trailing and creeping, rooting at nodes; only the short 

 flowering stems ascending. 



Leaves. — Opposite, evergreen, shining, ovate or oblong-ovate. 



Flowers. — Solitary in the axils of the leaves, blue or white, salver- 

 shaped. 



Calyx. — ^Tubular, five-toothed. 



Corolla. — Pale-blue or white, salver-shaped, border five-lobed — lobes 

 almost wedge-shaped, convolute in bud; throat angled and thickened. 



Stamens. — Five, inserted on the upper part or middle of the tube; 

 filaments short; anthers bearded at the tip. 



Ovary. — ^Two carpels; style long, slender, supports a cup in which is 

 the stigma. 



Follicles. — Slender, many-seeded. 



This is the first out-of-door flower in many country gardens 

 where bulbs have no place; and its lovely blue flowers among the 

 clean glossy leaves is a welcome sight of the early spring. Country 

 people know the plant chiefly as Myrtle and Periwinkle; in 

 city parks and gardens it covers the ground as Vinca; Pliny knew 

 it in Roman times as Pervinca. Why the French call it Flower- 

 of -Mystery is by no means clear; but the reason of the English 

 name, Joy-of-the-Ground, is apparent to any one. 



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