Herb or small subshrub to 1 m high. Leaf blade lanceolate to obovate or oblong, up to 80 mm long and 30 mm wide; tip apiculate, base cuneate. Flowers 20-35 mm long, 30-40 mm wide. Corolla white or pink, or white with a red eye. Fruit cylindrical, 25-35 mm long. [Vinca rosea L.]
Madagascar
Various cultivars exist, based mainly on habit and flower colour. New cultivars are constantly being developed.
A comprehensive account of these is found in Snoeijer (1996).
Source: (2002). Apocynaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 4. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 3. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
Corolla white, central eye white.
Catharanthus roseus 'Grape Cooler'
Corolla purple-violet, central eye dark red-purple.
Catharanthus roseus 'Little Blanche'
Corolla white, central eye pale green.
Catharanthus roseus 'Little Bright Eye'
Corolla white, central eye pale green.
Catharanthus roseus 'Ocellata'
Corolla white, central eye dark red-purple.
Catharanthus roseus 'Peppermint Cooler'
Corolla white, central eye red-purple.
Catharanthus roseus 'Pretty In Pink'
Corolla pale red-purple, central eye yellow.
Catharanthus roseus 'Sahara Madness Pink'
Corolla rose pink, central eye deep rose pink.