ABSTRACT
Bougainvillea is a popular ornamental, mostly valued for its multi coloured bracts. It can be used in the garden as a shrub, climber, pot plant or as a specimen plant. By keeping the view of its multiple uses there is always demand for the new coloured and forms of bracts in bougainvillea. All the present day colourful bracted bougainvilleas are developed through bud sports, mutations and inter and intra specific hybridization. There is no record of varieties evolved in bougainvillea through classical breeding in different countries. Present article will provide maximum information generated in India by different research institutes on classical and mutation breeding on bougainvillea.
CLASSIFICATIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS
| Plant Division | Angiosperms (Flowering Seed Plants) |
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| Plant Growth Form | Climber |
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| Lifespan (in Singapore) | Perennial |
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| Mode of Nutrition | Autotrophic |
DESCRIPTION AND ETHNOBOTANY
- Woody perennial vine or shrub (or small tree), erect or clambering, attaining a height of up to 12 m and a width of 7 m. Branches pilose, with straight, axillary, pilose spines.
- Leaves alternate, 2.6-2.5 × 2.7- 5 cm, chartaceous, ovate, the apex acute, obtuse, or acuminate, the base obtuse, rounded, or attenuate, slightly asymmetrical, the margins sinuate; lower surface tomentulose, with prominent pilose venation; petioles slender, 1 to 2.3 cm long, pilose.
- Flowers in axillary clusters of threes, each flower with a purple, red, pink, or orange bract beneath, to ca. 3 to 4 cm long; calyx tubular with 5 lobes, to ca. 2 cm long, tube the same colour as the bracts, lobes white, ca. 3 mm long; corolla absent; stamens 5-10. Fruit an achene, 1-1.5 cm, elongate, 5-ribbed containing 1 seed.
| Growth Form | It is a rambling shrub, with short and thin thorns which curved at the tips. The thinner branches spread in many directions. |
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| Foliage | Foliages are elliptical or oval in shape, where they are widest at the middle of the lamina. |
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| Flowers | The flowers are small and cream-coloured, tube in shape, flowers continuously through the entire branch, covered by distinctive triangle-shaped, pointed red bracts. |
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| Etymology | Genus Bougainvillea is named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), who was a French naval officer.
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LANDSCAPING FEATURES
| Desirable Plant Features | Ornamental Flowers |
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| Landscape Uses | Small Gardens, Hedge / Screening, Container Planting |
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PLANT CARE AND PROPAGATION
| Light Preference | Full Sun |
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| Water Preference | Little Water |
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| Plant Growth Rate | Fast to Moderate |
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| Rootzone Tolerance | Drought Tolerant, Well-Drained Soils |
| Propagation Method | Stem Cutting |
FOLIAR
| Foliage Retention | Evergreen |
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| Mature Foliage Colour(s) | Green |
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| Foliar Shape(s) | Non-Palm Foliage (Oval, Elliptical) |
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| Foliar Venation | Pinnate / Net |
| Foliar Margin | Entire |
NON - FOLIAR AND STORAGE
| Stem Type & Modification | Woody |
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FLORAL (ANGIOSPERM)
| Flower Colour(s) | Red |
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| Flower Texture(s) | Papery |
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| Flower Location | Axillary |
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| Individual Flower Shape | Tubular |
| Flowering Period | Free-Flowering |
BENEFITS
- It also is believed to have anticancer, antihepatotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antihyperlipidemic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antiulcer properties. Bougainvillea spectabilis contains pinitol, which has an insulin-like effect and has the potential for development as a treatment for diabetes.
USES
- The flowers, alone or in combination with other medicinal plants, have long been used in Mexican traditional medicine for the treatment of coughs and respiratory problems.
- A related species, B. glabra, has been found to have important properties as a botanical insecticide.
