''Catharanthus lanceus'' grows as a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb up to tall. Its fragrant flowers feature white or cream corolla lobes turning pink, reddish-violet or pink-magenta. Vernacular names for the plant include "lance-leaf periwinkle". Its habitat is on volcanic or burned soil, hillside rocks and in open woodland on ridges. ''Catharanthus lanceus'' is found from altitude. The plant is used in local medicinal treatments for toothache, fever and skin diseases, and also as a

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

References

lanceus Plants used in traditional African medicine Endemic flora of Madagascar Plants described in 1844 Taxa named by Wenceslas Bojer Taxa named by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle Taxa named by Marcel Pichon {{Apocynaceae-stub