Bougainvillea spectabilis (Bougainvillea)

Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd.

Bougainvillea, great bougainvillea

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Nyctaginaceae	Plants with unique fruits (“anthocarps”) and large pollen grains
Genus	Bougainvillea	Named in honor of the noted mathematician, scientist, lawyer, soldier, author and Fellow of the Royal Society of London, Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), who from 1767 to 1769 sailed around the world
Species	spectabilis	Spectacular

About plant names...

Although both plant and genus are named in honor of the noted mathematician, scientist, lawyer, soldier, author and Royal Society Fellow, Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), he “took notice” of the species, rather than discovering it. Carl Ludwig Willdenow did the discovering, in Brazil, in 1798.

Bougainvilleas, natives of South America, are prized for their beautiful flowers, which, technically at least, are not flowers at all. They are bracts—brightly colored leaves that surround small, inconspicuous white flowers. Breeders have created a cornucopia of these arresting plants (see, for example, this collection at Plants of Hawaii).

Detail showing bracts and tiny flowers, by Forest & Kim Starr

Plants: Evergreen woody climbing plants are usually around 6' (1.8 m) but can be over 30' (9.1 m) high. They have smooth and thorny stems. Thorns are greater than ½" (1.3 cm) long, and sometimes bent. They form freestanding bushes or climb like vines over walls and fences.

Leaves: 1-4" (2.5-10 cm) long, ovate, hairy, and alternate, with rippled edges.

Flowers: Bougainvilleas are kind of weird. Their flowers are cream-colored, about ⅜" (1 cm) in diameter, with pleated edges. But the bracts (modified leaves) surrounding the flowers come in a range of natural colors: red, dark pink, or purple. Cultivars come in other colors too: many reds, lavendar, magenta, peach, yellow, and white. Blooms are seasonal, appearing after the dry season or after a cool spell. If you look closely at the colorful “petals,” they are clearly leaves.

Medical: Many health-related benefits are attributed to bougainvilleas, but I cannot find any hard information on the topic.

These are closely similar:

7/7/2007 · Guam · By Jacquelyn Boyt

11/16/2018 · Puerto Rico · By Heather A. Kent

5/24/2009 · Kaylors, Peoria, Arizona
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm)

2/24/2010 · Bob & Celeste’s, Carlsbad, California
≈ 2½ × 1¾" (6.9 × 4.6 cm)

2/24/2010 · Bob & Celeste’s, Carlsbad, California
≈ 13 × 10" (33 × 25 cm)

	*Bougainvillea glabra*	You are here Bougainvillea spectabilis
Common Name	paperflower	bougainvillea
Plant	Evergreen woody climbing plants are 10-15' (3-4.6 m), They form freestanding bushes or climb like vines over walls and fences.	Evergreen woody climbing plants are usually around 6' (1.8 m) but can be over 30' (9.1 m) high. They form freestanding bushes or climb like vines over walls and fences.
Flowers	Cream-colored, about ⅜" (1 cm) in diameter, with pleated edges. Bracts (modified leaves) surrounding the flowers come in a range of (often cultivated) colors: many reds, lavendar, magenta, peach, yellow, and white. *Bracts tend to be more triangular in shape. Flowers appear several times per year, from winter to early spring.*	Cream-colored, about ⅜" (1 cm) in diameter, with pleated edges. Bracts (modified leaves) surrounding the flowers come in a range of natural colors: red, dark pink, or purple. Cultivars come in other colors too: many reds, lavendar, magenta, peach, yellow, and white. Blooms are *seasonal, appearing after the dry season or after a cool spell*.
Leaves	1-4" (2.5-10 cm) long, *elliptical, shiny, hairless,* and alternate, with *smoother edges* than those of B. spectabilis. Sometimes the leaves are variegated.	1-4" (2.5-10 cm) long, *ovate, hairy,* and alternate, with *rippled edges*.
Stem	*Hairy* and thorny stems. Thorns are typically *less than ½" (1.3 cm).*	*Smooth* and thorny stems. Thorns are *greater than ½" (1.3 cm) long,* and sometimes bent.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 9-11	USDA Zones: 9a-11
Habitats	Subtropical to tropical	Subtropical to tropical
Type	Escaped cultivar	Wild