长春花 chang chun hua

Vinca rosea Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 944. 1759; Ammocallis rosea (Linnaeus) Small; Catharanthus roseus var. albus G. Don; Lochnera rosea (Linnaeus) Reichenbach ex Spach; L. rosea var. alba (G. Don) Hubbard; L. rosea var. flava Tsiang; Pervinca rosea (Linnaeus) Moench; V. rosea var. alba (G. Don) Sweet.

Subshrubs or perennial herbs to 1 m tall, erect or decumbent. Young stems puberulent. Leaves obovate or elliptic, 2.5-9 X 1-3.5 cm, herbaceous, apex minutely apiculate; lateral veins 7-11 pairs. Corolla red to pink or white and then mostly with a pink or less often yellow eye; tube 2.5-3 cm, pilose inside, throat villous; lobes broadly obovate, 1.2-2 cm. Follicles 2-3.8 cm X ca. 3 mm. Fl. spring-autumn. 2n = 16.

Fujian, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [native to Madagascar, cultivated or naturalized in all tropical countries]

Cultivated for medicine. Decoction of all parts is used in the treatment of malaria, skin diseases, Hodgkin's disease, diarrhea, hypertension, and diabetes.