Bougainvillea ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the family, Nyctaginaceae. They are native to Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Argentina. There are between 4 and 22 species in the genus.
Description
The species grow 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
leaf are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, long and broad. The actual
flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six
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.
History
The first European to describe these plants was Philibert Commerçon, a
botanist accompanying French Navy admiral Louis Antoine de Bougainville during his voyage of circumnavigation of the
Earth, and first published by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789.
Twenty years after Commerçon's description, it was first published as 'Buginvillæa' in
Genera Plantarum by A. L. de Jussieu in 1789.
[ Jussieu, A.L. de. Genera Plantarum] The genus was subsequently spelled in several ways until it was finally established as "
Bougainvillea" in the
Index Kewensis in the 1930s. Originally,
B. spectabilis and
B. glabra were undifferentiated until the mid-1980s when botanists classified them as distinct species. In the early 19th century, these two species were the first to be introduced into Europe, and soon nurseries in France and Britain sold these varieties in Australia and throughout their former colonies. Meanwhile, Kew Gardens distributed plants it had propagated to British colonies throughout the world. Soon thereafter, a crimson specimen in Cartagena, Colombia was added to the genus descriptions. Originally thought to be a distinct species, it was named
B. buttiana in honour of the European who first encountered it. However, later studies classified it as a natural hybrid of a variety of
B. glabra and possibly
B. peruviana—a "local pink bougainvillea" from Peru. Natural hybrids were soon found to be common occurrences all over the world. For instance, around the 1930s, when the three species were grown together, many hybrid crosses were produced almost spontaneously in East Africa, India, the Canary Islands, Australia, North America, and the Philippines.
Cultivation and uses
Bougainvillea are popular
in most areas with warm climates, including
Florida,
South Carolina,
,
California, across the Mediterranean Basin.
Although it is frost-sensitive and hardy in USDA hardiness zone 9b and 10, bougainvillea can be used as a houseplant or hanging basket in cooler climates. In the landscape, it makes an excellent hot season plant, and its drought tolerance makes it ideal for warm climates year-round. Its high salt tolerance makes it a natural choice for colour in coastal regions. It can be pruned into a standard, but is also grown along fence lines, on walls, in containers and hanging baskets, and as a hedge or an accent plant. Its long arching thorny branches bear heart-shaped leaves and masses of papery bracts in white, pink, orange, purple, and burgundy. Many cultivars, including double-flowered and variegated, are available.
Many bougainvillea today are the result of interbreeding among only three out of the eighteen South American species recognised by botanists. There are over 300 varieties of bougainvillea. Because many of the hybrids have been crossed over several generations, it is difficult to identify their respective origins. Natural mutations seem to occur spontaneously throughout the world; wherever large numbers of plants are being produced, bud-sports will occur. This had led to multiple names for the same cultivar (or variety) and has added to the confusion over the names of bougainvillea cultivars.
The growth rate of bougainvillea varies from slow to rapid, depending on the variety. They tend to flower all year round in equatorial regions. Elsewhere, they are seasonal, with bloom cycles typically four to six weeks. Bougainvillea grow best in dry soil, in very bright full sun and with frequent fertilisation; but they require little water once established, and in fact will not flourish if over-watered. They can be easily propagated via tip cuttings.
Bougainvillea is also a very attractive genus for Bonsai enthusiasts, due to their ease of training and their radiant flowering during the spring.[ BonsaiDojo Species Guide – Bougainvillea Bonsai Tree] They can be kept as indoor in temperate regions and kept small by bonsai techniques.
B. × buttiana is a garden hybrid of B. glabra and B. peruviana. It has produced numerous garden-worthy cultivars.
The cultivars 'San Diego Red'
Symbolism and nomenclature
Various species of
Bougainvillea are the official flowers of
Guam (where it is known as the
Puti Tai Nobiu);
and
Pingtung County in
Taiwan;
Ipoh,
Malaysia;
the cities of
Tagbilaran,
Philippines; Camarillo, California; Laguna Niguel, California; San Clemente, California; the cities of
Shenzhen,
Huizhou,
Zhuhai, and
Jiangmen in
Guangdong Province,
China; Xiamen, Fujian
and Naha, Okinawa. It is also the national flower of
Grenada.
Native to South America, bougainvillea carry several names in the different regions where they are present. Apart from Rioplatense Spanish santa-rita, Colombian Spanish veranera, Peruvian Spanish papelillo, it may be variously named primavera, três-marias, sempre-lustrosa, santa-rita, ceboleiro, roseiro, roseta, riso, pataguinha, pau-de-roseira and flor-de-papel in Brazilian Portuguese. Nevertheless, buganvília in Portuguese and buganvilia in Spanish are the most common names accepted by people of the regions where these languages are spoken but it is an introduced plant.
Toxicity
The sap of bougainvillea can cause serious skin rashes, similar to
Toxicodendron species.
[Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Reactions in the Skin Caused by Plants. Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention Report: 63-8-2001 August 2001. ]
Taxonomy and phylogeny
As of 2010,
Bougainvillea is generally placed in the
Bougainvilleeae tribe (containing three genera) of the
Nyctaginaceae family with
Pisonieae being a sister tribe (containing four genera):
Species
According to the Catalogue of Life, there are 16 species of
Bougainvillea.
[Roskov Y., Ower G., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., van Nieukerken E.J., Penev L. (eds.) (2020). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 2020-12-01. Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-8858.]
See also
External links
