Common name: Shrub Vinca, Pink Kopsia, Pink Gardenia • Bengali: Dakur
Botanical name: Kopsia fruticosa Family: Apocynaceae (Oleander family)
Shrub Vinca is a tall bush with simple leaves. It has an interesting
resemblance to Frangipani. It is an evergreen shrub growing up to 4 m tall.
The plant is hairless except for inflorescences. Leaf stalk is 1 cm. Leaf
blade narrowly elliptic or narrowly oblong, 10-23 X 2.5-9 cm, tip sharp or
blunt. Flowers occur in bunches of a few. Beautiful light pink flowers, which may also be almost white, have 5 petals that are oblong, 1.5-2.5 cm.
The plant is distributed in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand. It is cultivated as an ornamental as well as for its medicinal properties.
Identification credit: Dinesh Valke
|Photographed in Maharashtra.|