Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut
Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The name comes from Louis Antoine de Bougainville, an admiral
in the French Navy who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768.
They are thorny, woody, vines growing anywhere from 1-12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their hooked thorns. The thorns are
tipped with a black, waxy substance that is easily left in the flesh of an unsuspecting victim. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs
all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, 4-13 cm long and 2-6 cm broad. The
actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the
bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea glabra is sometimes
referred to as "paper flower" because the bracts are thin and papery. The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene.
Bougainvillea are relatively pest-free plants, but may suffer from worms and aphids. The larvae of some Lepidoptera species also use them
as food plants, for example the Giant Leopard Moth.
These are photos of bougainvillea flowers taken from my home garden.
