Booganbel / Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea glabra
- Habit
- Liana
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Bougainvillea glabra
- Genus
- Bougainvillea
- Family
- Nyctaginaceae
- Habit
- Liana
- Habitat
- Garden plant
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Brazil
- Distribution
- Cultivated in most parts of the world
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala, West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttarakhand
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- LanceolaterecordedLong and narrow, tapering to a point, like a lance head.“The leaf blade is ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pointed or briefly pointed, 5 to 13 centimeters long and 3 to 6 centimeters wide, sparsely fluffy hairy on the underside and bald on th” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- PubescentrecordedCovered in short, soft hairs.“The leaf blade is ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pointed or briefly pointed, 5 to 13 centimeters long and 3 to 6 centimeters wide, sparsely fluffy hairy on the underside and bald on th” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Booganbel itself; the rest are typical of the Nyctaginaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Pink or purple papery bractsrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Achene
Characters marked “recorded” are for Booganbel itself; the rest are typical of the Nyctaginaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Booganbel बूगनबेल
- Nepali
- कागते फूल
- Bengali
- Baganbilas, কাগজ ফুল
- Telugu
- Kagithala Puvvu కాగితాల పువ్వు
- Kannada
- ಕಾಗದದಹೂ Kaagadada hoo, ಬೋಗನ್ ವಿಲ್ಲ Bougainvillea ಕೆಂಪುತುಱಾಯಿ, ಕೆಂಪುತುರಾಯಿ Kempu turaayi
- Malayalam
- ബോഗൈൻവില്ല ഗ്ലാബ്ര
- Marathi
- Booganvel बूगनवेल
Booganbel in India
Bougainvillea drapes walls, gates and terraces across India in sheets of colour — Booganbel बूगनबेल (Hindi), Kagithala Puvvu కాగితాల పువ్వు (Telugu), ಕಾಗದದಹೂ Kaagadada hoo (Kannada), ബോഗൈൻവില്ല ഗ്ലാബ്ര (Malayalam), Booganvel बूगनवेल (Marathi), Baganbilas (Bengali), the 'paper flower'. Native to Brazil, Bougainvillea glabra is one of the country's most popular ornamental climbers, recorded across Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala.
Uses
It is grown purely as an ornamental — trained over arches, gates and boundary walls, clipped into hedges, or kept as a flowering bonsai. Because it flowers best when slightly stressed and dry, it suits hot Indian terraces and needs little pampering.
How to Identify Booganbel
A thorny, scrambling woody climber whose true flowers are tiny and white, surrounded by three large papery bracts that provide the colour — magenta, purple, pink, orange or white. The thin, papery texture of those bracts gives the plant its common name.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Bougainvillea called in different Indian languages?
- Booganbel बूगनबेल (Hindi); Kagithala Puvvu కాగితాల పువ్వు (Telugu); ಕಾಗದದಹೂ Kaagadada hoo (Kannada); ബോഗൈൻവില്ല ഗ്ലാബ്ര (Malayalam); Booganvel बूगनवेल (Marathi); Baganbilas (Bengali).
- What is the colourful part of a bougainvillea?
- The vivid 'petals' are actually papery modified leaves called bracts; the real flowers are the small white tubes tucked inside them.
- Why is my bougainvillea not flowering?
- Bougainvillea flowers best with plenty of sun and on the dry side — too much water, shade or rich feeding produces leaves instead of bracts.
Nyctaginaceae
Four-O'clock Family
Booganbel belongs to the Nyctaginaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
All plant problem & care guides →More in Nyctaginaceae
View all Nyctaginaceae →Sources: GBIF — Bougainvillea glabra (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Bougainvillea glabra (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Bougainvillea glabra (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)