Bougainvillea

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s native to South America

South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
from Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
west to Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and south to southern Argentina

Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
(Chubut Province

Chubut Province

Chubut a province in the southern part of Argentina situated between the 42nd Circle of latitude South and 46th Parallel South , the Andes range separating Argentina from Chile, and the Atlantic ocean....
). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The name comes from Louis Antoine de Bougainville

Louis Antoine de Bougainville

Louis-Antoine, comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer....
, an admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the military rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above Vice Admiral and below Admiral of the Fleet/Fleet Admiral....
in the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale , is the maritime arm of the French military. It consists of a full range of vessels, from patrol boats to guided missile frigates, and includes one nuclear aircraft carrier and ten nuclear submarines ....
who discovered the plant in Brazil

Brazil

Vine

A vine is any plant of genus Grape or, by extension, any similar climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vinea, referred to the grape-bearing variety....
s growing anywhere from 1-12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their hooked thorns. The thorns are tipped with a black, waxy substance.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Bougainvillea'

Start a new discussion about 'Bougainvillea'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plant

Flowering plant

South America

Brazil

Peru

Argentina

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city....
(Chubut Province

Chubut Province

Louis Antoine de Bougainville

Louis-Antoine, comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer....
, an admiral

Admiral

French Navy

Brazil

Vine

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant having leaf all year round. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage for part of the year....
where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe....
if there is a dry season

Dry season

The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillation from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year....
. The leaves

Leaf

In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant Organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin, to expose the cells containing chloroplast to light over a broad area, and to allow light to penetrate fully into the tissues....
are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, 4-13 cm long and 2-6 cm broad. The actual flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bract

Bract

In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf. Bracts are ordinarily associated with reproductive structures . They are ordinarily reduced in size relative to foliage leaves, or of a different color or texture from foliage leaves, or both....
s with the bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea glabra
Bougainvillea glabra

Paper Flower , also known as lesser bougainvillea, is the most common species used for bonsai. It has shiny green, slightly hairy leaves and magenta colored bracts....
is sometimes referred to as "paper flower" because the bracts are thin and papery. The fruit

Fruit

The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. In botany, which is the scientific study of plants, fruits are the ripened Ovary of flowering plants....
is a narrow five-lobed achene

Achene

An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are "monocarpellate" and wikt:indehiscent . Achenes contain a single seed that nearly fills the pericarp, but does not adhere to it....
.

Bougainvillea are relatively pest-free plants, but may suffer from worms and aphid

Aphid

Aphids, also known as plant lice , are small plant-eating insects, and members of the Taxonomic rank Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions....
s. The larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
species also use them as food plants, for example the Giant Leopard Moth

Giant Leopard Moth

The Giant Leopard Moth or Eyed Tiger Moth is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is distributed throughout the Southern and Eastern United States from New England to Mexico....
.

Cultivation and uses

Bougainvilleas are popular ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
s in most areas with warm climates, including the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, India

India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
, Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
, Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
, the Mediterranean region, the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America....
, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
in Arizona

Arizona

The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
, California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, Florida

Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, Hawaii

Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
, and southern Texas

Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
.

Numerous cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when Plant propagation it retains those characteristics....
s and hybrid

Hybrid

In biology, hybrid has two meanings. The first meaning is the result of interbreeding between two animals or plants of different Taxon. Hybrids between different species within the same genus are sometimes known as interspecific hybrids or crosses....
s have been selected, including nearly thornless shrubs. Some Bougainvillea cultivars are sterile, and are propagated from cuttings.

Bougainvillea are rapid growing and flower all year in warm climates, especially when pinched or pruned. They grow best in moist fertile soil. Bloom cycles are typically four to six weeks. Bougainvillea grow best in very bright full sun and with frequent fertilization, but the plant requires little water to flower. As indoor houseplant

Houseplant

A houseplant is a plant that is grown indoors in places such as House and offices. Houseplants are commonly grown for decorative purposes and health reasons such as indoor air purification....
s in temperate regions, they can be kept small by bonsai

Bonsai

Bonsai 'Bonsai' is a Japanese pronunciation of the earlier Chinese term penzai . The word bonsai is used in the West as an umbrella term for all miniature trees in containers or pots....
techniques. If overwatered, Bougainvillea will not flower and may lose leaves or wilt, or even die from root decay.

Symbolism

Various species of bougainvillea are the official flowers of the island of Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island nation that includes the southern Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines....
, the island of Guam

Guam

Guam , officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized, unincorporated insular area of the United States....
, of Lienchiang and Pingtung Counties in Taiwan

Taiwan

Ipoh

Ipoh is a city in Malaysia and is the capital of the state of Perak. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur via the North-South Expressway, Malaysia....
, Malaysia and of the cities of Tagbilaran, Philippines

Philippines

Camarillo, California

Camarillo is a city in Ventura County, California, California, United States. The population was 57,077 at the 2000 census. A January 1, 2006, California Department of Finance estimate lists the population at 64,034....
; Laguna Niguel, California

Laguna Niguel, California

Laguna Niguel is a city located in southern Orange County, California, California. The name "Laguna Niguel" is derived from the Spanish word "Laguna" which means lagoon, and the word "Nigueli" which was the name of a Juane?o Indian village that was once located on Aliso Creek ....
; San Clemente, California

San Clemente, California

San Clemente is a city in Orange County, California, California, United States. As of 2005, the city population was 65,900. Located six miles south of San Juan Capistrano, California at the southern tip of the county, it is roughly equidistant from San Diego, California and Los Angeles, California....
; and Naha, Okinawa

Naha, Okinawa

is the capital city of the Prefectures of Japan of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921, but prior to that Naha had already been for centuries one of the most important and populous sites in the Ryukyu Islands....
.

Bougainvillea

Cultivation and uses

Symbolism

Gallery

External links