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Bougainvillea glabra
Paperflower
Bougainvillea
Not native to Florida
This popular landscape plant is native to South America and is also introduced to Texas, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Bougainvillea is a sprawling vine that lends itself to pruning into many shapes. The small flowers are yellow-white waxy tubes surrounded by showy colorful papery bracts which give this plant its common name. The species B. glabra has violet bracts and leaves with smooth undersides. There are many horticultural hybrids with bracts of various colors.
You can find out more about bougainvilleas at the Floridata website.
The genus is named for Louis Antoine de Bougainville a French admiral and explorer of the late 18th century.
Bougainvillea glabra is a member of the Nyctaginaceae - Four o'clock family.
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Mar 22, 2020
