Invasive garden groundcover confirmed spreading in LA County wildlands
iNaturalist: chloroxiphite
Invasive Species
That trailing periwinkle vine sold as an easy-care groundcover at the nursery can jump your fence and smother native seedlings in the canyon or creek bed down the street.
Someone spotted greater periwinkle growing on its own in Los Angeles County, and other naturalists confirmed the identification, making it an official research-grade record. This plant is a common ornamental groundcover, but it's also known for escaping gardens and forming dense mats that crowd out native plants in wild areas.
Key Findings
Observation reached 'research-grade' status on iNaturalist, meaning the ID was confirmed by community consensus.
Location confirmed as Los Angeles County, US-CA, an area where Vinca major is documented as an escaped invasive.
Greater periwinkle spreads vegetatively via trailing stems that root at nodes, allowing rapid ground coverage once established outside cultivation.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A citizen scientist confirmed a research-grade sighting of greater periwinkle, an invasive groundcover, growing wild in Los Angeles County. It's a reminder that this popular garden plant readily escapes cultivation and spreads into wildlands.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
greater periwinkle (Vinca major) observed in Los Angeles County, US-CA, US
Research-grade observation of greater periwinkle in Los Angeles County, US-CA, US.
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Vinca major, the greater periwinkle, also sometimes called bigleaf periwinkle, large periwinkle or blue periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to the Mediterranean region. Growing to 25 cm (10 in) tall and spreading indefinitely, it is an evergreen perennial...