Flora of New Zealand Series

bougainvillea

Scrambling or climbing shrub with fairly stout, rather curved spines; shoots and spines with curly hairs. Lvs with densely hairy petioles, brownish when young. Lamina 4-11 × 1.75-8 cm, lanceolate-ovate to broad-ovate, puberulent when young, becoming glabrate above except on veins; base cuneate; apex cuspidate or short-acuminate. Fls on long branches, leafy at the base, in clusters of (1)-3. Bracts 3.5-5.5 × 3-4 cm, broadly oblong-ovate, magenta, papery, ± bullate; apex acute or mucronate. Perianth 2-2.5 cm long, densely hairy and dark purple outside, cream inside; limb 7-10 mm diam., shrinking when dried, undulate, cream above. Stamens unequal; anthers suborbicular. Fr. not seen.

N.: Mangonui (N. Auckland); S.: Arapito Valley (near Karamea, N.W. Nelson).

Brazil 1983

Cliffs, roadside scrub; cultivation escape.

FL Jul-Jun.

Naturalised plants, and most or all N.Z. cultivated bouganvillea with magenta-purple bracts, can be referred to cv. 'Magnifica'.