Periwinkle Flower: Its Meanings & Symbolism
It’s easy to miss the Periwinkle flower and simply step over it. The diminutive bloom is easily hidden under a layer of leaf litter or larger foliage. If you’re growing the plant or want to send it as a gift to a loved one, consider what it symbolizes first. This small purple flower is surprisingly meaningful.
What Does the Periwinkle Flower Mean?
The common Periwinkle evokes feelings of
- Blossoming friendship that is still in its first stages
- Reminiscing about pleasant memories shared with a friend or relative
- Reaching your full potential and achieving your dreams
- Existence throughout eternity, and extending your time with what you love
- Everlasting love
- The purity and strength of the Virgin Mary.
Etymological Meaning of the Periwinkle Flower
The Periwinkle has been a part of European history for thousands of years, so it’s only natural that the name comes from Latin through Old and Middle English. The flower was once called pervinca by the Romans, which slowly involved into the flower’s current name over the centuries.
Symbolism of the Periwinkle Flower
The Periwinkle was a potent religious symbol tied to the Virgin Mary in the Middle Ages, so it’s not uncommon to see the little purple blossom peeking out of a stained glass window. Victorian flower language users assigned it the meaning of a beautifully blossoming friendship. It also means sharing the recollection of a pleasant memory from the past. In the Ukraine, it’s tied to folklore about love that lasts through the eternity. It’s given as a gift to newlyweds to wish them a long marriage, but it’s even used around candles in the hopes that they’ll last longer.
The Periwinkle Flower Facts
The Periwinkle, also known as Vinca by its scientific name, features a star-shaped light blue or lavender flower. Some varieties are white or slightly pink. It’s commonly used as a bedding plant because it spreads quickly across the ground to form a low growing green layer that doesn’t need mowing or pruning.
Periwinkle Flower Color Meaning
The plant’s meaning does vary based on the color of the petals. While this plant isn’t a birth flower, you can still match the flower to a person based on characteristics like:
- White flowers being linked to memories and long lasting love
- Light blue symbolizing purity and the beginning of a friendship you want to last
- Other colors for cheering up loved ones feeling a little down.
Meaningful Botanical Characteristics of the Periwinkle Flower
The Periwinkle is a little too poisonous to use safely as an herb, while some people do take the risk and rely on it as an herbal supplement. It is being researched as a potential cancer treatment, but it has the potential to cause serious liver and kidney damage even on rare occasions, so stick with using it as a decoration.
The Periwinkle Flower’s Message Is…
Reach out to make new friendships while remembering the past fondly. Hold on to the things you cherish for as long as possible.
>>Click Here To Learn More And Find Out About Organixx Essential Oils
[…] Periwinkle […]
Hi,
We have had blue periwinkle growing on our property for over 40 years. There were small spots of white. The periwinkle was here when we built and is now on all parts of an acre. This spring every place that was blue is white. Do you have any idea about why this has happened?
Thanks,
Stout
I wonder if it is like the hydrangea that changes color from the pH of the soil.