Periwinkle (Vinca minor), also known asLesser periwinkle and Dwarf periwinkle, is a plant native to central and southern Europe, from Portugal and France north to the Netherlands and the Baltic States, and east to the Caucasus, and also in southwestern Asia in Turkey. Other vernacular names used in cultivation include Small periwinkle, Common periwinkle, and sometimes in the United States, Myrtle or Creeping myrtle, although this is misleading, as the name myrtle normally refers to the Myrtus specie.