“Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.”
If the periwinkle were people, they would be shy and unassuming. The kind of men and women who are around us imperceptibly, doing their jobs silently, thriving with equal ease in the light or shade, happy to grow in a solitary space or coexist with another.
But within them, they hold unprecedented amounts of potential, a treasure trove of priceless gifts for the world around them.
The Madagascar Periwinkle is an epitome of modesty. It will happily bloom in the flowerbeds of a rookie gardener without fastidious demands of care. You can see it shrubbing on the side of the roads, under the shade of taller bushes, and in the wild, An evergreen plant, it is extremely low maintenance and can be found to thrive contentedly with little light, shade, and moisture.
It doesn’t make its way to bouquets, or intricate flower arrangements or a maiden’s tiara. But wherever it blooms, the pale pink-blue petals unfold in silent grace and add beauty to the tranquility of the wilderness.
Wildflowers that do not find a place in the halls of beauty, most often abound in the apothecary or the ancient healers’ medicine cabinet. Folk medicine all over the world mentions the uses of the periwinkle in treating innumerable ailments, ranging from diabetes to wasp stings.
An inquiry into the potential anti-diabetic properties of this flower led Canadian researchers, Richard Nobel and Charles Beer to a chance discovery of the Vinca alkaloids. This act of serendipity led to the creation of Vincristine and Vinblastine, two of the first anti-cancer drugs.
Till the 1960s, the long-term survival rate of many childhood leukemias used to be no more than 10%. Since the discovery of these drugs from the alkaloids extracted from periwinkle, this dismal figure has improved exponentially to about 90% overall.
You will come across this little flower everywhere. In modest little pots, in homely little gardens, on streets, and in the wild, cared for or untended. And in most instances, your eyes will gloss over them to fix on the ostentatious beauty of a rose, or the wild seduction of the many-colored orchids. But the periwinkle will bloom, like an anonymous savoiur, carrying within, the gift of cure, even for those who fail to notice its presence,