Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don
| Perennial ever blomming glabrous herb or subshrub up to 60 cm tall | Habit |
| Leaves opposite petiolate, oblong abovate, tapering to base, up to c. 7 cm x 2 cm, obtuse, mucronate | Leaves |
| Flowers relatively large, solitary axillary, short pedicelled, white to pink to purplish, up to c. 3-4 cm across, tube up to c. 3 cm long, narrow cylindrical, lobes broadly obovate. | Flowers |
| Fruit twin follicles up to c. 3 cm long, many-seeded | Fruit |
3. Catharanthus G. Don. Perennial herbs. Leaves opposite, petiolate. Flowers in axillary cymes or solitary or paired flowers, white or pink. Calyx 5-lobed. Corolla salverform; tube cylindrical; lobes spreading, overlapping to the left in bud. Stamens 5, included, inserted below the middle of the corolla; anthers free from stigma. Carpels 2, free; styles filiform; stigmas capitate. Fruit paired follicles, many-seeded. Of its c. 8 species, it is represented by 1 species in Saudi Arabia. 1. Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. Gen. Syst. 4: 95 (1836). Plate Apocyn. 3. = Vinca rosea L.
Arabic Name : Biftah
English Name : Madagascar Periwinkle
Saudi Arabia: A common cultivated ornamental sometimes seen as an escape.
Distribution: Originally from Madagascar. Introduced elsewhere