Catharanthus roseus

Madagascar rosy periwinkle
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Apocynaceae
Genus:	Catharanthus
Species:	C. roseus
Binomial name
Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don
Synonyms
Ammocallis rosea (L.) Small Catharanthus roseus var. albus G. Don Hottonia littoralis Lour. Lachnea rosea (L.) Rchb. Lochnera rosea (L.) Rchb. ex Endl. Lochnera rosea var. alba (G. Don) Hubbard Lochnera rosea var. flava Tsiang Pervinca rosea (L.) Gaterau Pervinca rosea (L.) Moench Vinca gulielmi-waldemarii Klotzsch Vinca rosea L. Vinca rosea var. alba (G. Don) Sweet Vinca rosea var. albiflora Bertol. Vinca speciosa Salisb.

A Catharanthus Roseus flower in Hyderabad, Pakistan

Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as the Madagascar periwinkle, rose periwinkle, or rosy periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. It is native and endemic to Madagascar, but grown elsewhere as an ornamental and medicinal plant, a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat cancer. Other English names include '“Cape periwinkle” and "old-maid". It was formerly included in the genus Vinca as Vinca rosea.