Is Vinca Poisonous? A Detailed Explanation in One Article

Periwinkle, also known as "everyday new" and calendula grass, is a fairly common flower variety in our daily lives. Its flowering period is long, and it can be seen blooming almost all year round. In home cultivation, it is usually grown in pots, but many people mention that periwinkle is poisonous and should not be kept at home. Is there any basis for this claim? Below, Qinnong Web tells everyone whether periwinkle is poisonous, and whether periwinkle can be placed indoors.

1. Is periwinkle poisonous?

Usually, before growing a plant at home, we all care about whether the plant is poisonous. As everyone says, periwinkle is a poisonous plant. Periwinkle belongs to the Apocynaceae family, and like most plants in the Apocynaceae family, the sap of periwinkle is poisonous, with the flowers being the most toxic part.

Periwinkle contains more than 70 alkaloid components, including vinblastine, vincristine, and vincamine, among which vinblastine has an inhibitory effect on human white blood cells and can poison the nervous system, while vincamine can produce mutagenic effects inside the human body, leading to the development of teratomas.

However, under normal circumstances, poisoning only occurs when a wound comes into contact with the sap, or when the sap is accidentally ingested. Slightly touching the flowers and leaves of periwinkle will not harm the human body. As long as everyone pays attention in daily life and does not casually break off branches and leaves, there is nothing to worry about. If periwinkle is accidentally eaten, it can cause symptoms such as decreased white blood cells, decreased platelets, muscle weakness, and paralysis of the limbs.

2. Can periwinkle be kept at home?

So, since periwinkle is poisonous, does that mean it cannot be kept indoors at home? The answer is no. As Qinnong Web introduced above, only the sap of periwinkle is poisonous. If a wound does not come into contact with the sap or it is not accidentally ingested, poisoning will not occur. Therefore, there is no need to be overly nervous just because this plant is poisonous. In fact, many plants are also poisonous, but they are likewise grown in our homes, such as narcissus. However, Qinnong Web also reminds everyone here that if it is grown at home, it is best to place it on a terrace. This is not because its toxicity will be released, but because a place like a terrace has more sufficient sunlight, which is more conducive to the plant's growth.

3. Medicinal value of periwinkle

Although periwinkle is poisonous, it is also a usable Chinese herbal medicine. Periwinkle has effects such as lowering blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, promoting urination, and treating mumps and burns, and it also has a certain anti-tumor effect and a role in treating leukemia. It is a very good Chinese herbal medicine.

After reading this article, we know that although periwinkle is poisonous, it will not be released through smell, so growing it at home is completely fine. In addition, periwinkle also has many medicinal effects. From this it can be seen that even for flowers, we should not view them through monochrome glasses. Poisonous plants also have a certain therapeutic effect on our diseases in another respect.