Booganbel / Lesser Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea spectabilis
- Found in India
- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan & more
How to identify Booganbel
Identify Booganbel by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Hairy leaves; stout recurved thorns.
- Confirm leaf shape: Cordate.
- Confirm leaf surface: Pubescent.
- Confirm flower colour: Pink or purple papery bracts.
- Confirm fruit type: Achene.
- In India, compare location records such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Nyctaginaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Booganbel.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Bougainvillea spectabilis
- Genus
- Bougainvillea
- Family
- Nyctaginaceae
- Found in India
- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- CordaterecordedHeart-shaped, with a notch at the base.“Bougainvillea spectabilis grows as a woody vine or shrub, reaching 15 to 40 feet (4.6 to 12.2 m) with heart-shaped leaves and thorny, pubescent stems.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- PubescentrecordedCovered in short, soft hairs.“Bougainvillea spectabilis grows as a woody vine or shrub, reaching 15 to 40 feet (4.6 to 12.2 m) with heart-shaped leaves and thorny, pubescent stems.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
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
- Fruit type
- AchenerecordedA small, dry, single-seeded fruit that does not split open.“Its fruit is a small, inconspicuous, dry, elongated achene.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
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
- Kannada
- ಕಾಗದಹೂ Kaagada hoo, ಕೆಂಪುಗೊಂಡೆ Kempugonde
- Manipuri
- চেরৈ Cherei
- Bengali
- Baganbilas
- Marathi
- Booganvel बूगनवेल
- Konkani
- Bouganvila बुगनविला
- Telugu
- Kagithala Puvvu కాగితాల పువ్వు
- Mizo
- Sa-rawn
About Booganbel
Lesser bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis) is a species in the Nyctaginaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and 14 other states.
Nyctaginaceae
Four-O'clock Family
Booganbel belongs to the Nyctaginaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Nyctaginaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Booganbel or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides