[2] Vinca minor is a trailing subshrub, spreading along the ground and rooting along the stems to form large clonal colonies and occasionally scrambling up to 40 centimetres (16 in) high but never twining or climbing.

[3] Other alkaloids include reserpine, rescinnamine, akuammicine, majdine, vinerine, ervine, vineridine, tombozine, vincamajine, vincanine, vincanidine,[4] vinburnine, apovincamine, vincaminol, desoxyvincaminol,[5] vincorine[6] and perivincine.

Vinca minor is native to central and southern Europe, from Portugal and France north to the Netherlands and the Baltic states, east to the Caucasus, and also southwestern Asia in Turkey.

The species is commonly grown as a groundcover in temperate gardens for its evergreen foliage, spring and summer flowers, ease of culture, and dense habit that smothers most weeds.

It was once commonly planted in cemeteries in parts of the Southern U.S. and naturalized periwinkle may indicate the presence of graves whose other markers have disappeared.