Lesser periwinkle

Evergreen periwinkle is the Ukrainian symbol of faithful love and enduring life – no bridal wreath or korovai wedding bread was complete without it.

The lesser periwinkle is an evergreen dwarf shrub with creeping stems that root easily, forming dense, glossy carpets in the shade of trees. It has leathery, elliptical leaves arranged in opposite pairs and solitary blue-violet flowers with five obliquely cut petals, appearing in April and May. It grows naturally in the broadleaf forests of central and southern Europe, but for centuries it has been planted by houses, in cemeteries and in gardens as ground cover. It contains alkaloids, including vincamine, used in drugs that improve blood flow to the brain.

Significance in the country

In Ukrainian culture the periwinkle symbolises love, fidelity and immortality – it is woven into the bride’s wreath, used to decorate the korovai wedding bread and planted beside cottages. It is also a constant motif in folk songs, embroidery and pysanky.

Where it grows

Wild in the broadleaf forests of western and central Ukraine – in Podolia, Volhynia, Bukovina and the Carpathians – and cultivated by houses, churches and in cemeteries throughout the country.

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