Is Periwinkle Poisonous? Learn About Its Toxicity Before You Grow It for Peace of Mind

Periwinkle, also known as "Daily Renewal" and "Marigold Herb" among other names, is a fairly common flowering plant in our daily lives. It has a long blooming period and can be seen flowering almost 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 will tell you whether periwinkle is poisonous and whether it can be placed indoors.

I. Is Periwinkle Poisonous?

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

Periwinkle contains over 70 alkaloid compounds, including vinblastine, vincristine, and leurosine. Among them, vinblastine has an inhibitory effect on human white blood cells and is toxic to the nervous system, while leurosine can cause mutagenic effects within 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. Lightly touching the flowers and leaves of periwinkle will not harm the human body. As long as you are normally careful and do not casually break off branches and leaves, there is no problem. If periwinkle is accidentally ingested, it can cause symptoms such as reduced white blood cells, reduced platelets, muscle weakness, and limb paralysis.

II. Can Periwinkle Be Kept at Home?

So then, since periwinkle is poisonous, does that mean it cannot be kept indoors at home? The answer is no. As Qinnong Web has already explained 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 are likewise kept in our homes, such as narcissus. However, Qinnong Web would also like to remind everyone here that if growing it at home, it is best to place it on a terrace. This is not because its toxicity will be released into the air, but because a location like a terrace has more ample sunlight, which is more conducive to the plant's growth.

III. Medicinal Value of Periwinkle

Although periwinkle is poisonous, it is also a Chinese herbal medicine that can be utilized. Periwinkle has effects such as lowering blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, promoting diuresis, and treating mumps and burns, and it also has certain anti-tumor and leukemia-treating effects. 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 its scent, so growing it at home is completely fine. In addition, periwinkle has many medicinal benefits. From this, we can see that even with flowers, we should not view them through tinted glasses. A poisonous plant can also, in another respect, have certain therapeutic effects on our illnesses.