Greenheart Canopy Walkway

« Previous Day: Alnus sieboldiana | Main | Next Day: Near Vantage, Washington »
Nov 6, 2009: Cypripedium montanum
Nov 7, 2008: Ranunculus aquatilis
Nov 7, 2007: Quercus suber
Nov 7, 2006: Pediomelum esculentum
Nov 7, 2005: Verbascum eriophorum

June 13, 2007 : Bougainvillea glabra (unknown selection)

Interested in subscribing? Visit the main Botany Photo of the Day page and fill out the form in the upper right corner!

Keywords: Nyctaginaceae | Bougainvillea glabra Choisy | San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Bougainvillea glabra

Today's photograph is courtesy of David Tarrant, who recently retired from UBC Botanical Garden. This image was taken two months ago in his garden in Mexico. Thank you, David!

Paperflower or bougainvillea, although native to Brazil, is now widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical world due to its popularity as an ornamental plant (it is also grown as a houseplant in temperate climates). As is fairly common when something becomes so widely cultivated, a number of varieties and hybrids exist, so tracking down the name of an unknown cultivated plant can be tricky (hence today's photograph marked as an unknown selection).

The colourful “petals” are actually modified leaves; these large bracts surround the small, whitish flowers that (appropriately) resemble other flowers in the tropical-to-warm-temperate Nyctaginaceae.

Bougainvillea glabra was featured on Cal's Plant of the Week, where the discovery of the plant and associated historical tidbits are mentioned.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at June 13, 2007 5:46 AM

Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries

Comments

Bougainvillea glabra - Z9-11 - A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, Brickell, Cole, Zuk

Posted by: Beverley at June 13, 2007 7:59 AM

i live on the west coast of florida
the sight of this flower on roof tops
and fences and patios is just
a grand sight your pictures have just
been wonderful these past weeks
we arm chair travelers are most
thankful

Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at June 13, 2007 11:54 AM

I live in Australia where these are very common, I particularly like the white ones.

Posted by: Cherie at June 14, 2007 7:25 PM

Is there a website for the Bougainvillea Plant.
Re: Care of the plant, when and if it should be pruned etc

Posted by: Dorothy Gauthier at August 8, 2007 3:11 PM

A great resource for bougies can be found at bgi-usa.com. They are one of the largest bougie wholesalers in the world and have a lot of great info.

Bougie On!

Posted by: perrypil at August 20, 2007 8:13 AM

hi,

Lovely picture!

Not sure if you'll reply this, but I'll take a shot.

Is it ok if I save this picture and use it for my artwork i.e I'd like to paint it? Not for commercial or anything, just for fun.

Posted by: intysaar at March 13, 2008 7:51 AM

Oh, nice pic!!!
Can you tell me what is the story of bougainvillea? i really nid to know.
P.S(Thanks alot)

Posted by: Joei at March 25, 2008 5:24 AM

HI THERE
PLEASE IS THERE ANY OTHER COLOURS IN (BOUGAINVILLEA) AS I HAVE JUST BOUGH ONE FOR MY WIFE KIND REGARDS ANTHONY
(The Soulman 51)

Posted by: ANTHONY at March 28, 2008 2:14 PM

I just googled bougainvilleas because they're mentionrd in a book im reading
but..
is there any form/breed (sorry i dont know the botanical word)of this plant that you could keep in a pot or something indoors?
I live in a cold winter climate so im pretty sure they wouldn't survive outdoors.

Posted by: Mackenzie at May 25, 2009 6:41 PM

Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!

Post a comment




Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)

XML Feeds: Atom | RSS 2.0 | RSS 1.0 | What is RSS? | RSS Tools

Locations of visitors to this page

Creative Commons License
Botany Photo of the Day and all associated images are licensed under a Creative Commons License except when otherwise specified in the accompanying written entry.

About Botany Photo of the Day | Submit Your Photos via Flickr | Submit Your Photos via UBCBG's Discussion Forums

Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.