Can’t decide if one should call it ‘Bougainvillea Possessed’ or ‘Bougainvillea Obsessed’ – I love Bougainvilleas since childhood. That’s it.
Just before another post on this flower that makes Indian summers so much more bearable and beautiful, I had a curiosity attack (nothing unusual for me)!
Realised I knew nothing about one from my ‘most favourite things’ list – borrowing heavily from the famous ‘Sound of Music’ song… so here’s something I found for Bougainvillea lovers…
The Bougainvillea originated in Brazil, discovered in 1768 by French naturalist Dr. Philibert Commerçon. It enraptured the French navigator Louis-Antoine de Bougainville and received his name.
Its botanical name is Bougainvillea glabra and family is Nyctaginaceae.
The magenta variety is the most common, especially delightful to the eyes if you are travelling in the dusty, sand coloured Rajasthan and Gujarat desert states of India.
It flowers madly, unhindered by cattle, thanks to its thorns which can scare off predators but doesn’t prick memories.
They are pest – resistant, disease – resistant, hardly need water, flower mostly during the whole year but winters.
Wherever I have visited or lived, I have hunted for Bougainvillea.
The Government of India felicitated the Bougainvillea flower with these postage stamps and first day cover – found on ebay
All photos are taken by the Bougainvillea struck author 🙂
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