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In the Gardens

Lesser Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea glabra

Bloom time

All year round, mainly in early summer.

Characteristics

The thorny climbing plant grows up to 25 m (28 yd.) tall on (building) walls. The leaves don’t carry hairs. The actual blooms are yellowish and very small. Shining, purple red, oval-tapered bracts surround each three of them. There are cultivars with varying colours.

Site:

For aesthetic purposes, canalized riverbeds in Funchal and Santa Cruz are covered with wires on which are growing Bougainvillea plants. They also grow on other sites and are among the most popular ornamental plants on Madei-ra for their abundance of flowers. Up to an altitude of 450 m (490 yd.) and especially in the south you can find them nearly everywhere.

Interesting to know:

Although to a smaller extent, the similar Great Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis) is also cultivated on Madeira. It has hairy leaves and purple-red, heart-shaped petals. Crossbreeding of the two species allowed to develop specimens of various colours (purple, pink, orange, white). The botanical denomination reminds of the French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville. The Bougainvilleas were discovered on an ex-cursion to Brazil 1766-1769 that was led by him.

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