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Blue periwinkle (Vinca major)

Blue Periwinkle is a serious environmental weed in temperate, higher-rainfall regions of southern Australia. It forms dense mats that compete with native plants and can prevent tree and shrub regeneration.

Key facts

Type: Weed, vine and creeper.

Native to: Central and southern Europe and northern Africa.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA.

Other names: Periwinkle, Vinca, Sorcerer's Violet, Big Leaf Periwinkle.

Best time to act: Find and treat plants while they are actively growing; hand removal is best done when the soil is moist, and follow-up treatment is recommended 6 to 12 months after initial control.

Identification

  • This evergreen ground cover has tough, trailing stems with milky sap that root at the nodes where they touch the ground.
  • Stems can spread 2 to 4 metres in a season, with upright flowering stems reaching about 500 mm high.
  • Its thick, glossy green leaves grow in opposite pairs and are broad-oval to elliptic, with smooth margins and fine hairs.
  • Blue or lilac-blue flowers, sometimes white, grow singly on stalks from the leaf and stem junction; flowering is mainly from May to December.
  • It forms a hardy, fibrous root mat, and rarely produces viable seed in Australia.
  • Look-alike: Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca minor) may be confused with Blue Periwinkle. It has smaller flowers and a hairless calyx 3 to 4 mm long, while Blue Periwinkle has a calyx 9 to 17 mm long with marginal hairs.

Where it grows

In Australia it occurs mainly in damp or seasonally moist sites, including riparian areas, forests, woodlands and heathlands, and also on roadsides and other disturbed sites.

Why it matters

  • It forms dense mats in native vegetation, competing with native plants for moisture, light and nutrients.
  • Dense ground cover can suppress native species and prevent tree and shrub regeneration.
  • It invades a range of ecosystems, including temperate rainforest, and is identified as a threat to endangered and vulnerable plant species.
  • It is poisonous to sheep, cattle and horses if eaten, although poisoning is not frequent.

How it spreads

  • Local spread is mainly vegetative, as stems root at nodes and runners and nodes form new crowns.
  • Long-distance spread and new infestations can result from stem fragments and crowns moved in garden waste or contaminated soil, or carried by water.
  • Viable seed is rarely produced in Australia.

Control options

  • Control is difficult because the plant has a tough, resilient root system.
  • For small infestations, hand-pull, grub or dig plants out when the soil is moist, removing the crown, stems and roots.
  • For larger infestations, foliar-spray actively growing plants with appropriate registered herbicides; slashing or mowing followed by treatment of regrowth is also described.
  • Follow up treatment of stem and root growth and seedlings is recommended 6 to 12 months after initial treatment; solarisation under plastic sheeting for up to 6 months is another option for small infestations.

Hygiene and washdown

  • Avoid spreading stem fragments and crowns in garden waste or contaminated soil, as they can establish new infestations.
  • Take care to dispose of removed material so fragments cannot spread.
  • Inspect and clean vehicles, plant and footwear before leaving an infested area, paying attention to tyres, radiators, belly plates, tracks and floor mats.
  • Wash down at a designated bay where runoff is contained and can be monitored for seedlings.
  • Record each washdown so the client has evidence of clean entry and exit.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): No national listing. Managed under state and territory law.
  • Queensland: Not prohibited or restricted. Not listed as prohibited or restricted matter in Queensland. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: Regional priority in 1 of 11 regions. Regional priority weed in Hunter. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Not declared. Not declared under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. Other Victorian laws may still apply.
  • South Australia: Not declared. Not declared under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019. Other laws may still apply.
  • Western Australia: Permitted, not declared. Listed as a permitted organism in WA, so it can be brought in, but it is not a declared pest.
  • Tasmania: Not declared. Not a declared weed in Tasmania. Other laws may still apply.
  • Northern Territory: Not declared. Not on the NT A to Z weed list, and Weeds Australia does not list it as declared in the NT. Check the NT declared weeds list before moving or planting it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Declared pest, prohibited. It is a declared pest throughout the ACT. Dealing with it, such as selling, moving or keeping it, is prohibited.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Sources