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Catharanthus
Also called Madagascar Periwinkles
In Singapore: Madagascar periwinkle, Rose Periwinkle, 日日春, 长春花 (Grown in Singapore)
Catharanthus is a genus of subshrubby perennial herbs in the dogbane family, best known through Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle), a widely grown warm-climate bedding and container plant. It thrives in heat, sun and well-drained soil, and tolerates dry spells.
Catharanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae. Like the genus Vinca, they are known commonly as periwinkles. It is a perennial herb and a subshrub endemic to Madagascar, with the exception of Catharanthus pusillus (commonly known as the tiny periwinkle), which is found in India and Sri Lanka. The most widely known species is Catharanthus roseus due to its usage in traditional and modern medicine, specifically as a source of cancer-treating alkaloid chemicals.
Most of the known species of Catharanthus are endemic to Madagascar, though one, C. roseus, is widely naturalized around the world. One species, C. pusillus, is native to India and Sri Lanka. The plant, as it has been observed up to this point, can inhabit up to 2000 m elevation, particularly those seen in the central plateau mountains.
In the 1950s, Catharanthus roseus, known formerly as Vinca rosea, was heavily researched when India, and various countries in Africa and the Caribbean used it for its medicinal properties. It is a main source of vinca alkaloids, now sometimes called catharanthus alkaloids. The plant produces about 130 of these compounds, including vinblastine and vincristine, two drugs used to treat cancer. These alkaloids are typically used to treat cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and testicular cancer. A less commonly known alkaloid that the species holds is ajmalicine (found in the root), used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) (hyp and diabetes. Traditionally, the medicinal properties of the plant extend to treating hyperglycemia, asthma, hypertension, malaria, various infections, and many more. The species was also briefly referenced when trying to find COVID-19 treatment through the extraction and usage of jasmonic acid, methylester, Penciclovir, and Putamonoxin B and D.
Catharanthus lanceus · Madagascar Periwinkle · Catharanthus trichophyllus
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Catharanthus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
