Botanical Name: Vinca minor. The closely related species greater periwinkle (Vinca major), a much larger plant, is used in a similar manner in herbal medicine and has the same medicinal properties as lesser periwinkle. Other Common Names: Common and dwarf periwinkle, vinca, running-myrtle, blue buttons, devil's eye, joy on the ground, sorcerer's violet, pervinca minore (Spanish), Immergrün (German), petite pervenche (French), gravmyrt (Norwegian), vintergröna (Swedish), vintergrøn (Danish), pikkutalvio (Finnish). Habitat: Periwinkle is originally native to Central and Southern Europe, from Denmark to Spain and east to West Asia. Lesser periwinkle was introduced to North America in the 1700s for ornamental