lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor)
(c) Miroslav Marić, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Miroslav Marić · CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
Flowering plantsIn Lorain County, Ohio

Lesser periwinkle

Vinca minor L.

Lesser periwinkle in all of Ohio
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Genus
Vinca

Introduced and invasive status

Introduced in Ohio: iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)

Also listed

  • Introduced and assessed as invasive in the lower 48 states

iNaturalist's volunteer curators list it as introduced in their Ohio checklist.

US-RIIS assesses a species as invasive when it causes, or is likely to cause, harm there, or is at least locally abundant and harmful ecologically, economically, or to health.

Status: Simpson A, Sellers E, Pagad S (2023). United States Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (US-RIIS), ver. 2.0. U.S. Geological Survey, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KFFTOD (opens in a new tab)

Near Lorain County

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 4 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (16)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (50)
  • Recorded, season not shown (18)
  • Season shown (4)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
lesser periwinkle by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Allen CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ashland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ashtabula CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Athens County97 · Recorded, season not shown
Auglaize CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Belmont CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Brown CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Butler County135 · Season shown
Carroll CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Champaign CountyNo qualifying records yet
Clark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clermont County41 · Recorded, season not shown
Clinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Columbiana CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Coshocton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Crawford CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Cuyahoga County232 · Recorded, season not shown
Darke CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Defiance CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Delaware County33 · Season shown
Erie County20 · Season shown
Fairfield CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fayette CountyNo qualifying records yet
Franklin County100 · Recorded, season not shown
Fulton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Gallia CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Geauga County35 · Recorded, season not shown
Greene County23 · Recorded, season not shown
Guernsey CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hamilton County89 · Recorded, season not shown
Hancock County29 · Recorded, season not shown
Hardin CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Harrison CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Henry CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Highland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hocking County45 · Recorded, season not shown
Holmes CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Huron CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Jackson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jefferson CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Knox CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lake County44 · Recorded, season not shown
Lawrence CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Licking County23 · Recorded, season not shown
Logan CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lorain County41 · Recorded, season not shown
Lucas County37 · Recorded, season not shown
Madison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Mahoning CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Marion CountyNo qualifying records yet
Medina CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Meigs CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Mercer CountyNo qualifying records yet
Miami CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Monroe CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Montgomery County43 · Recorded, season not shown
Morgan CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Morrow CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Muskingum CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Noble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ottawa CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yet
Perry CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Pickaway CountyNo qualifying records yet
Pike CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Portage County39 · Recorded, season not shown
Preble CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yet
Richland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ross CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Sandusky CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Scioto CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Seneca CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Shelby CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Stark County32 · Recorded, season not shown
Summit County179 · Recorded, season not shown
Trumbull CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Tuscarawas CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Union CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yet
Vinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Warren County37 · Recorded, season not shown
Washington CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wayne CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Williams CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wood County20 · Season shown
Wyandot CountyNo qualifying records yet

No mapped range from the range source used, the USGS Gap Analysis Project, which maps land vertebrates only.

Season

When it is recorded

In Lorain County

Not enough evidence

The weeks are still too uncertain to show a season. Based on 41 records in 8 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, above the minimum of 20 records from 5 different years.
Show over the bars
Recording in Lorain County · records of all species each week, 26,475 in all

Records per week from 41 records in 8 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not a season or how common it is.

Show as a table
Records of lesser periwinkle in Lorain County each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of lesser periwinkleYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–1022193
Jan 11–1700115
Jan 18–240075
Jan 25–310059
Feb 1–700101
Feb 8–140099
Feb 15–210084
Feb 22–280049
Mar 1–700114
Mar 8–1400103
Mar 15–2100258
Mar 22–2800139
Mar 29 – Apr 400228
Apr 5–1132376
Apr 12–1843561
Apr 19–2532560
Apr 26 – May 21151,122
May 3–973824
May 10–1622793
May 17–2311901
May 24–3000886
May 31 – Jun 600771
Jun 7–1311797
Jun 14–20111,124
Jun 21–2700954
Jun 28 – Jul 400770
Jul 5–1100973
Jul 12–1800957
Jul 19–25001,240
Jul 26 – Aug 100912
Aug 2–800907
Aug 9–1500769
Aug 16–2200768
Aug 23–2900788
Aug 30 – Sep 500959
Sep 6–1211907
Sep 13–1911817
Sep 20–2600745
Sep 27 – Oct 311508
Oct 4–1000597
Oct 11–1711343
Oct 18–2400426
Oct 25–3100297
Nov 1–700278
Nov 8–1411210
Nov 15–2100121
Nov 22–2811100
Nov 29 – Dec 500118
Dec 6–120060
Dec 13–1900224
Dec 20–2600187
Dec 27 – Jan 200208

Reported in flower

Only 6 records here show flowers, too few to show a flowering season. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

Reported in fruit

No records here show fruit yet, so there is no fruiting season to show. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

In Ohio

Early March to mid-October, middle week Apr 19–25

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 1,938 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 876 dates. Latest record: December 2025.

Show as a table
Records of lesser periwinkle in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of lesser periwinkleYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10656,211
Jan 11–17325,146
Jan 18–24644,645
Jan 25–31424,698
Feb 1–7326,023
Feb 8–141545,888
Feb 15–211145,436
Feb 22–28546,846
Mar 1–72668,321
Mar 8–1440710,384
Mar 15–2157712,620
Mar 22–2894913,949
Mar 29 – Apr 4145819,661
Apr 5–11213826,860
Apr 12–182091039,925
Apr 19–251941041,623
Apr 26 – May 2205956,391
May 3–9105952,952
May 10–1657853,785
May 17–2341957,698
May 24–3023754,651
May 31 – Jun 622753,099
Jun 7–1312753,700
Jun 14–2028756,625
Jun 21–279655,361
Jun 28 – Jul 412658,477
Jul 5–1110461,336
Jul 12–1814564,722
Jul 19–2513769,753
Jul 26 – Aug 110759,416
Aug 2–814659,712
Aug 9–158555,994
Aug 16–2214654,328
Aug 23–2920851,772
Aug 30 – Sep 518857,167
Sep 6–1219759,075
Sep 13–1926854,543
Sep 20–2618845,860
Sep 27 – Oct 336843,180
Oct 4–1037837,841
Oct 11–1722630,824
Oct 18–2422621,156
Oct 25–3121519,021
Nov 1–712614,172
Nov 8–1410612,621
Nov 15–211077,965
Nov 22–28958,136
Nov 29 – Dec 51386,083
Dec 6–12556,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26325,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2948,459

Reported in flower

Usually reported in flower mid-March to mid-May, middle week Apr 12–18.

From 199 records that show flowers. Not every photo of a plant in flower is marked as flowering, so this shows when people reported it in flower, not when it flowers.

Reported in fruit

No records here show fruit yet, so there is no fruiting season to show. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Identification

How to identify it

Telling it apart

From what Ohio’s records show. Only what the records support is shown.

Often confused with

  • greater periwinkle Vinca majorOften confused in Ohio: 41 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • fortune's spindle Euonymus fortuneiOften confused in Ohio: 37 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • blue phlox Phlox divaricataOften confused in Ohio: 10 identifications in Ohio named one where the other was meant
  • Eastern Teaberry Gaultheria procumbens59 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • partridgeberry Mitchella repens28 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Developed63%49%
Forest33%31%
Wetland2%5%
Farmland2%11%
Open water0.3%3%
Barren0.1%0.6%
Grassland and shrub0.1%0.9%

From 1,346 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

1,938 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.