One of the most beautiful flowers, that is also used in order to decorate balconies and gardens is the bougainvillea.
Let’s find out more about it!
- Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees.
- They belong to the four o’ clock family, Nyctaginaceae.
- It is native to eastern South America.
- It can be found from Brazil, west to Peru, and south to southern Argentina.
- Different authors accept from 4 to 18 species in the genus.
- The inflorescence consists of large colourful sepal-like bracts which surround three simple waxy flowers.
- The vine species grow anywhere from 1 to 12 metres (3 to 39 ft) tall, scrambling over other plants with their spiky thorns.
- 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 colours associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow.
- Bougainvillea glabra is sometimes called “paper flower” because its bracts are thin and papery.
- The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene.
- In some cultures, the plant is considered a symbol of peace and an encourager of free trade between two entities.
- Bougainvilleas are also known as Napoleón, veranera, trinitaria, Santa Rita and papelillo.
- South America is the native home of bougainvillea plants, and in its natural tropical growing environment, it flowers all year.
- Bougainvilleas can be grown in pots, as a bonsai, in hanging baskets, along walls, over trellises, as a hedge and other places in the garden.
- Bougainvilleas were first recorded by the Europeans, by French botanist Philibert Commerçon, in the 1760s.
- The bougainvillea was named by Commerçon, after the French admiral, Loui-Antoine de Bougainville, who was an explorer, and whom Commerçon had joined for an expedition around the world.
- Bougainvilleas are evergreen and grow well in warm to hot climates, although they can become dormant and lose their leaves in winter if it becomes too cold, and they can be damaged by frosts.
- Bougainvilleas need good drainage, are very hardy once established, can tolerate salty environments, and are not usually attacked by pests.
- Bougainvilleas are a popular garden plant, due to their stunningly coloured bracts and their versatility in the garden.
- Bougainvillea thrives in full sun.
- At least 5 hours a day of direct sunlight is the minimal light required for good bloom.
- Less than 5 hours and the plant may not bloom very well.
- If grown indoors, in shade or partial shade, you will have nice vegetative growth, but little or no bloom.
- You can successfully kill bougainvillea shrubs by cutting back the growth severely and applying glyphosate herbicide to the cut stems.
- Due to the energetic growing tendencies of bougainvillea, be prepared to repeat this process several times to kill the bougainvillea shrub completely
- The sap of bougainvillea can cause serious skin rashes, similar to Toxicodendron species.
- Many of today’s bougainvillea are the result of interbreeding among only three out of the eighteen South American species recognised by botanists.
- Currently, there are over 300 varieties of bougainvillea around the world.
Got anything to add?