Family NyctaginaceaeBougainvilleas are by nature climbing plants, but a number of hybrids developed from B. but nana are less vigorous than the species and can be trained as bushy shrubs, or alternatively as compact plants on a wire hoop or a framework.
The common name of this plant is 'paper flower', which is a description of the coloured bracts formed when the plant blooms. The flowers are small and insignificant, but the large bracts which give the plant its very attractive appearance are brightly coloured and have a papery-looking texture. These plants are not easy to propagate but they are freely available, and although varieties occur with white, yellow, orange, pink, red or purple bracts it is usually the pink or red shades which are offered.
