Small Periwinkle. 
VINCA Lin. Gen. PL Petjtandria Monogvnia. 
- Raii Syn. Gen. 1 7 Herb® multistli-qu a: SEU corniculata:. t ■ c 0 lt 
VINCA minor caulibus procumbentibus, foliis lanceolato ovatis, floribus pcdunculatis. Lin. "yi. age- 
tab. p. 209. Sp. PL 304.. 
PERVINCA caulibus procumbentibus, foliis ovato lanceolatls, petiolis uiiifloris. Haller, hijt. 572. 
CLEMATIS daplinoides minor. P. Pin. 301. 
VINCA PERVINCA minor. Ger. emac. 894. 
VINCA PERVINCA vulgaris. Parkins. 380. %, p. 268. Periwinkle. 
Hudjon Pl. Angi. ed. 2. p. 91. Lightfoot FI. Scot. p. 147. 
RADIX perennis, repens, fibrofa. | 
CAULES floriferi ereiSli, limpliccs, dodrantales, aut pe- ^ 
dales, in Cepibus etiam, vepris fuftentati ad t 
altitudinem huinanam quandoque evehuntur, | 
debiles, teretes, glabri, utrinqiie fulco obfo- 
lete notati, pcrafta florefccntia humi repent. | 
ROOT perennial, creeping and fibrous. 
STALK-S producing the flowers, are upright, Ample, 
from nine inches to a foot in height, and fome- 
times in hedges fupported by the bulhes, 
they are raifed to the height of fix feet, weak, 
round, fmooth, marked on each fide with a 
gi'oove faintly imprefl'ed, when out of bloom 
creeping on the ground. 
FOLIA oppofita, petiolata, petiolis foliis ipfis quadruplo | LEAVES oppofite, Handing on footftalks four times 
brevioribus, fempervirentia, ligufirina, ovato- | fhorter than the leaves themfelves, evergreen, 
lanceolata, glabra, margine integerrima, nuda ; ¥ fomewhat like thofe of Privet, oval, and 
in caulibus floriferis laitius virentia. | pointed, fmooth and flilning, the edge per- 
f feftly entire, and naked, thofe on the flower- 
I ing ftalks of the mofi: lively colour. 
CAULIS FLORIFERUS unicum aut duos flores, etiam | THE FLOWERING STALK produces one or two 
plures aliquando producit, cjeruleos, purpu- ? handfome flowers, fometimes more, of a blue 
reosve, pulchellos, ocello albo, ad plenitudinem | or purple colour, with a white eye, and much 
pronos. ^ dilpofed to be double. 
PEDUNCULI uniflori, axillares, alterni, fuberefti, t FLOWER-STALKS fupporting one flower, axillary, 
foliis duplo fere longiores, teretes, glabri, pur- | alternate, nearly upright, almoft twice the 
puralcentes. length of the leaves, round, fmooth and Ihin- 
I r . '"S' 
CALAX: Perianthium quinquepartitum, tubo co- ^ CALYX: a Perianthium deeply divided into five 
rollaj triplo brevior, perfiftens, laciniis erec- t fegments, three times fhorter than the corolla, 
tis, acutis, glabris. Jig. 1. | permanent, the fegments upright, pointed 
X and fmooth. i. 
COROLLA monopetala, hypocrateriformis ; Tubus In- | COROLLA monopetalous, lalver-fhaped ; Tube below 
feme cylindraceus, luperne latior, lineis quin- | 
que infculptus, rigidulus, externe nitidus, in- y 
terne villoUis ; horizontalis, quinque- | 
partitus, laciniis apici tubi adnatis, 
fum latioribus, oblique truncatis. 
extror- ^ 
t 
cylindrical, above fpreading, having five 
grooves, fomewhat rigid, externally fhining, 
internally villous; Limb horizontal, deeply 
divided into five fegments, which appear to 
grow to the top of the tube, externally 
broadeft and cut off obliquely. 
STAMINA: Filamenta quinque, brevifiima, in- 'j: STAMINA: five Filaments, very fhort, bent In, 
flexa, retroflexa, luperne dilatata; Anther® | 
membranacea, obtulk, incurva:, pilofa:, mar- ^ 
gine utrinque fariniferse. Jig. 9. 10. t 
and afterwards back again, dilated above ; 
Anther® membranous, blunt, bent in, hairy, 
producing its farina on each fide of the edge. 
rriiT. /-> ^ 1-/1 r P 
PISTILLUM: Germina duo, fubiotunda, compreffa | PISTILLUM: Germina two, roundifh, fomewhat 
corpufculis duobus ad latera, nitidis, longitu- 
dine germinum; Stylus obverfe conicus, | 
longitudine ffaminum ; Stigmata duo, in- | 
ferius orbiculatum, planum, margine vifei- ? 
dum, fuperiu's capitatum, pilofum, albifli- | 
mum./^. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. II. 
flattened at the fides by two Ihining corpuf- 
cles of the length of the germina; Style 
inverfely conical, the length of theftamina; 
Stigmata tw'o, the lowermofl orbicular, 
flat, and clammy on the edge, the uppermoft 
forming a little tuft of very white hairs. 
WHOEVER looks into the tube of this flower with any degree of attention, muft be ftruck with the wifdom 
fhewn in the formation of the parts contained within it ; in all the plants I have feen I do not recoiled any greater 
inftance of care taken to preferve the tender parts of the frudification, each Anthera is terminated by a membrane 
which bends over at top, and the membranes of all the Anthera: clofing together, effedually feclude every thing 
which might injure the parts of the frudification below them, diftinguilhed not lefs by the delicacy than the fin- 
gulnrity of their firudure. The filaments in their lhape fomewhat refemble a note of interrogation, the Antherae 
in their ftrudure_ are very fimilar to thofe of the violet, and open inwardly in the fame manner : the ftyle which 
in mod flow'ers is broadeft at top is here flendereft ; they are two in number, but fo clofely united, that, without 
a magnifier, the dlvilion is fcarce to be perceived ; the ftigmata, according to Linnffius, are two in number ; it is 
moft probable, however, that the lowermoft, which is flat with a glutinous edge, and which forms a kind of ring 
round the ftyles, is the true ftigma ; the top is a little elevated above the ftigma, and appears like a round white 
br.Il, which, when magnified, is found to confift of a number of hairs diverging from one center, in the microf- 
cope it is a very pleafing fight; the ripe feed vellel of this plant I have not been able to difeover; they are moft 
probably rarely produced. 
This I'pecics of Periwinkle varies much in the colour of its bloflbms, which are fometimes purple, fometimes of 
a pale blue colour, aird fometimes white ; in the gardens it is alfo fold with divers forts of variegated foliage aird 
double blolfoms. ° “ 
At the foot of a flielter’d hedge expofed to the morning fun, it flourilhes very much, efpecially if the foil be 
moift, and affords a very pretty ornamental flower in the fpring months, nor is it fo fugacious as many but will 
continue in bloflbm a month or fix weeks. ' ’ 
it may probably be found wild in divers places about London ; as yet, however, I have iroticed it in one foot 
only, r/is. ^ni the hedge of .infield on the left hand fide of Lordihip Lane near Dulwich, where it had every ap- 
pearance of being in a wild ftate. 
