Apocynaceae

Catharanthus roseus

Common Names: Pink periwinkle

Plant Form: Perennial herb to subshrub. Size: Up to 1 m tall. Stem: Green, sometimes tinged with red or purple, and covered with fine hairs. Can become slightly woody towards base. Contains a milky sap. Leaves: Oblong, oval or egg-shaped with smooth edges and rounded tips. Glossy green on top and paler underneath. Sometimes sparsely hairy. Flowers: Showy bright pink and 2.5-5 cm across with 5 petals, but may also be other colours due to hybridising with ornamental varieties. Fruit and Seeds: Cylindrical, pod like dry fruit in pairs. Ripen from green to brown. Containing numerous small black or dark brown, bumpy seeds. Habitat: Old gardens, waste areas, roadsides, parks, railway lines, urban bushland, coastal scrub, gullies, riparian areas.