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Catharanthus trichophyllus is a perennial herb or subshrub from northern Madagascar, growing up to about one metre tall with white, pink, red or purple flowers. It is a close relative of the Madagascar periwinkle and needs warm, sunny, well-drained conditions.
Catharanthus trichophyllus is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is most common in northern regions.
The plant is a congeneric of the Madagascar periwinkle (C. roseus), the original main source of vinca alkaloids, also known as catharanthus alkaloids, which are still in use today as anticancer drugs. C. trichophyllus contains lower concentrations of such alkaloids. The two species can be hybridized to increase the concentration.
The plant grows in humid and dry climates in many habitat types, including forest edges and openings, riverbanks, and disturbed areas such as roadsides.
The plant is used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of conditions, including sexually transmitted diseases, impotency, back pain, toothache, fever, dysentery, bleeding, and liver diseases. It is used as a stimulant, an aphrodisiac, and an appetite suppressant.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Catharanthus trichophyllus 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
