Biology:Bougainvillea

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Bougainvillea (/ˌbuːɡənˈvɪli.ə/ BOO-gən-VIL-ee-ə, US also /ˌboʊ-/ BOH-) 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.[1] The inflorescence consists of large colorful sepal-like bracts which surround three simple waxy flowers, gaining popularity for the plant as an ornamental. The plant is named after explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811), after it was documented on one of his expeditions.

Description

Close-up photo of Bougainvillea spectabilis in Hawaii, showing thorns

The species grows 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 (1.6–5.1 in) long and 2–6 cm (0.79–2.4 in) 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.

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.[2]

Bougainvillea glabra in Kerala

Cultivation and uses

A "stick" of pink bougainvillea

Bougainvillea are popular ornamental plants in most areas with warm climates, including Florida, South Carolina,[3] South India, California, and across the Mediterranean Basin.[4]


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.[5]

Bougainvillea is also a very attractive genus for Bonsai enthusiasts, due to their ease of training and their radiant flowering during the spring.[6] They can be kept as indoor houseplants 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'[7] and 'Mary Palmer's Enchantment' [8] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Bougainvillea are relatively pest-free plants, but they may be susceptible to worms, snails and aphids. The larvae of some Lepidoptera species also use them as food plants, for example the giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia).

Its low water requirements make the bougainvillea an ideal plant for the decoration of dry places, such as the Greek island of Santorini depicted.

Symbolism and nomenclature

Bougainvillea in southern Crimea, Ukraine. The humid subtropical climate in the area allows the cultivation of certain cultivars.

Various species of Bougainvillea are the official flowers of Guam (where it is known as the Puti Tai Nobiu);[9] Lienchiang and Pingtung Counties in Taiwan; Ipoh, Malaysia;[10] 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[11] and Naha, Okinawa. It is also the national flower of Grenada.[12]

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, Caribbean Spanish trinitaria, 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 pt in Portuguese and buganvilia es 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.[13]

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):

 
Pisonieae
 

Pisoniella (Heimerl) Standl. (2 species)

 
 
 
 

Neea Ruiz & Pav. (81)

 
 

Guapira Aubl. (76)

 
 
 

Pisonia L. (47)

 
 
 
Bougainvilleeae
 

Bougainvillea Comm. ex Juss. (16 species)

 
 
 

Belemia Pires (2)

 
 

Phaeoptilum Radlk. (1)

 
 
 
 

Species

According to the Catalogue of Life, there are 16 species of Bougainvillea.[14][15]

  • Bougainvillea berberidifolia Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea campanulata Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea glabra Choisy
  • Bougainvillea herzogiana Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea infesta Griseb.
  • Bougainvillea lehmanniana Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea malmeana Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea modesta Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea pachyphylla Heimerl ex Standl.
  • Bougainvillea peruviana Humb. & Bonpl.
  • Bougainvillea praecox Griseb.
  • Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd.
  • Bougainvillea spinosa (Cav.) Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea stipitata Griseb.
  • Bougainvillea trollii Heimerl
  • Bougainvillea × buttiana Holttum & Standl. (B. glabra × B. peruviana)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named WFO
  2. ↑ "Bougainvillea Comm. ex Juss.". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden. http://www.tropicos.info/Name/40030049?projectid=30. 
  3. ↑ TIME (1982). The Concord Desk Encyclopedia. Concord Reference Books. pp. 185. ISBN 0-940994-01-1. 
  4. ↑ Manzaneque, Fernando (2023-09-14). "Bougainvillea, A "Mediterranean" Staple" (in en). https://medium.com/weeds-wildflowers/bougainvillea-a-mediterranean-staple-2edc974e0345. 
  5. ↑ Martin Anderson, Texas AgriLife Extension Service. "Bougainvillea | Archives | Aggie Horticulture" (in en). https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/bougainvillea.html. 
  6. ↑ Ichiban, Mark- (2020-01-02). "Bougainvillea Bonsai Tree - Species Guide and Growing Tips" (in en-US). https://www.bonsaidojo.net/bougainvillea-bonsai-species-guide/. 
  7. ↑ "Bougainvillea 'San Diego Red' | bougainvillea 'San Diego Red' Climber Wall Shrub/RHS" (in en-gb). http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/99916/bougainvillea-san-diego-red/details. 
  8. ↑ "Bougainvillea (Spectoperuviana Group) 'Mary Palmer's Enchantment' | bougainvillea 'Mary Palmer's Enchantment' Climber Wall Shrub/RHS" (in en-gb). http://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/153118/bougainvillea-(spectoperuviana-group)-mary-palmer-s-enchantment/details. 
  9. ↑ Kobayashi, Kent D.; James McConnell (October 2007). "Bougainvillea". Cooperative Extension Service, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/OF-38.pdf. 
  10. ↑ "Welcome to Ipoh – The Bougainvillea City". Passage to Kinta District. http://www.perak.info/kinta/ipoh.htm. 
  11. ↑ "Xiamen City Flower and City Tree". www.cdsndu.org. http://www.cdsndu.org/html_en/to_specialArticleContent_specialArticleID=8a28e6d84afcab3e014b01554ff103de.html. 
  12. ↑ Webmaster, G. O. G. (2022-12-06). "National Symbols" (in en-gb). https://www.gov.gd/index.php/national-symbols. 
  13. ↑ "Phytodermatitis: Reactions in the Skin Caused by Plants". http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/research/dermatitis/files/phytoderm.pdf. 
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "GRIN Species Records of Bougainvillea". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?1617. 

Wikidata ☰ Q156996 entry



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