![](https://livingrainforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Giant-Taro-Cropped-300x160.jpg)
Rosy periwinkle
Catharanthus roseus
![](https://livingrainforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/rose-periwinkle-465x450.jpg)
Discover at the Living Rainforest
You’ll find the Rosy periwinkle in the Amazonica and small islands glasshouses.
Look out for…
You might notice the natural variation of flower colour from white to dark pink.
Despite its unassuming appearance, it is a very powerful plant containing over 70 highly toxic alkaloids to deter animals from eating it. One of these alkaloids, called vinblastine, is used as a cancer fighting medicine, helping to increase the survival rate of childhood leukemia from 10% to 90%.
Other species you might like
![](https://livingrainforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Giant-Taro-Cropped-300x160.jpg)
![bromeliad bromeliad](https://livingrainforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/bromeliad-shutterstock_108890825-300x160.jpg)
Bromeliads
![The Philippines jade vine has some of the most extraordinary flowers of any plant. Enormous, metre-long spikes of brilliant turquoise blooms hang from the scrambling stems The Philippines jade vine has some of the most extraordinary flowers of any plant. Enormous, metre-long spikes of brilliant turquoise blooms hang from the scrambling stems](https://livingrainforest.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Jade-Vine-Close-Up-300x160.jpg)