Common Name: Shrub Vinca
Shrub vinca is a shrub of Chinese origin, it grows to a height of about 2.5 meters. It is mostly cultivated for its attractive pink flowers. Seen often planted in parks and house gardens in Tamilnadu. The plant has a milky latex; all parts of the plant is considered poisonous. The simple leaves are arranged in an opposite manner. The leaves are glossy green in color and elliptic in shape with a cuneate base and an acuminate apex. The leaf stalk and leaf measure around 4mm and 12 cm respectively. The inflorescence is axially in bunches. The flower consists of five pink colored petals joined to form a tubular structure. The center of the flower has a prominent red spot. The calyx is reddish in color and measure around 4 mm. The flower tube measure around 4.3 cm and the flower across measure around 5.5 cm. The fruit is in the form of a single seeded drupe which is red in color.
