Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Gentianales > Apocynaceae > Catharanthus > C. roseus

Description: Erect or decumbent, deciduous undershrub up to 1 m tall, usually with white latex and an unpleasant smell; roots up to 70 cm long; stems narrowly winged, green or red, shortly hairy to glabrous, often woody at base. Leaves decussately opposite, simple and entire; stipules 2–4 at each side of the leaf base; green or red; blade elliptical to obovate or narrowly obovate, base cuneate, apex obtuse or acute with a mucronate tip, herbaceous to thinly leathery, glossy green above and pale green below, sparsely shortly hairy to glabrous on both sides. Inflorescence terminal, but apparently lateral, 1–2-flowered. Flowers bisexual, 5-merous, regular, almost sessile; sepals slightly fused at base, erect, green; corolla tube cylindrical, widening near the top at the insertion of the stamens, laxly shortly hairy to glabrous outside, with a ring of hairs in the throat and another lower down the tube, greenish, lobes broadly obovate, apex mucronate, glabrous, spreading, pink, rose-purple or white with a purple, red, pink, pale yellow or white centre; stamens inserted just below the corolla throat, filaments very short; ovary superior, consisting of 2 very narrowly oblong carpels, style slender, with a cylindrical pistil head provided at base with a reflexed transparent frill and with rings of woolly hairs at base and apex, stigma glabrous. Fruit composed of 2 free cylindrical follicles, striate, laxly shortly hairy to glabrous, green, dehiscent, 10–20- seeded. Seeds oblong, grooved at one side, black. Seedling with epigeal germination.

Flowering and Fruiting: Throughout the year

Uses: Used as an ornamental and medicinal plant. It is a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat cancer. It was formerly included in the genus Vinca as Vinca rosea.

Cultivation: Common.

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org