| Dicotyledon | Literature for Catharanthus roseus
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999; Lorence & Wagner, 2020. |
| Apocynaceae -- The Dogbane, Milkweed Family | Bibliography |
| Catharanthus roseus | |
Common name(s): periwinkle, kihapai, Madagascar perwinkle |
| General Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Distribution | Endemic to Madagascar, now widely naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas.In the Hawaiian Islands, naturalized on Midway, Ni`ihau, Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Maui, Kaho`olawe, Hawai`i. | |
| Habit |
Suffrutescent herb; stems 3‒8 dm long, sparsely puberulent. |
|
| Leaves |
Leaves short-petiolate; blade oblong-elliptic to obovate, 3‒5 cm long, 1.5‒2.5 cm wide, margin entire, apex rounded, sometimes apiculate, base cuneate; petiole 3‒10 mm long, with many glands at the axil. |
|
| Flowers |
Flowers paired; calyx lobes 5‒7 mm long; corolla rose-pink or sometimes white, often with a white, red, or yellow center, tube 20‒30 mm long, lobes 15‒27 mm long. |
|
| Fruit |
Fruit 1.5‒2.5 cm long. |
|
| Seeds |
Seeds narrowly ellipsoid, 2 mm long, 1 mm in diameter, blackish, surface wrinkled. |
|
| Chromosomes |
2n = 16, 24, 32. |
|
| Contributor |
Nancy Khan |
