Bougainvillea glabra
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Bougainvillea glabra, the lesser bougainvillea or paperflower,[1] is the most common species of bougainvillea used for bonsai.[2] The epithet 'glabra' comes from Latin and means "bald".[3]
Description
It is an evergreen, climbing shrub that usually grows Script error: No such module "convert". tall, occasionally up to Script error: No such module "convert".. It features thick, thorny stems and drooping branches that are glabrous or sparsely hairy. The leaves have a Script error: No such module "convert". stem. The leaf blade is ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pointed or briefly pointed, 5 to 13 centimeters long and 3 to 6 centimeters wide, sparsely fluffy hairy on the underside and bald on the top. The leaf-like bracts are purple, oblong or elliptical, pointed, Script error: No such module "convert". long and about Script error: No such module "convert". wide. They tower over the flowers. These grow individually in pairs or in groups of three on flower stems about 3.5 millimeters long.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Raphides have been found in the stem, bracts and different parts of the flower.Template:Sfn
Inflorescences
The crown tube is greenish, clearly angled, about 2 centimeters long, sparsely downy hairy, ribbed and points away from the flower stalk. The tip is lobed five times and forms a short, spread, white or yellowish hem. The six to eight stamens have 8 to 13 millimeter long stamens. The ovary is about 2 millimeters long, the stylus 1 millimeter and the scar 2.5 millimeters.[4]
Tiny white flowers usually appear in clusters surrounded by colorful papery bracts, hence the name paperflower. The leaves are dark green, variable in shape, up to Script error: No such module "convert". long.[5] The flowers are about Script error: No such module "convert". in diameter (the pink petal-like structures are not petals, but bracts).[6]
Cultivation
B. glabra is heat and drought tolerant and frost sensitive. It is easily propagated by cuttings.[5] It needs full sunlight, warm weather and well drained soil to flower well. The species is often used in culture, in areas with frost in glass houses, otherwise outdoors. The similar Bougainvillea spectabilis, which differs from Bougainvillea glabra by the velvety-felty underside of the leaves, is also cultivated, but less frequently.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Uses
Being of medical importance, the infusion of the plant's tender leaves and bracts is used orally to treat gastrointestinal problems (diarrhoea, stomach pain), and respiratory conditions (asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, chest pain, fever, pneumonia, whooping cough).[7]
Gallery
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Vine
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Paperflower—Bougainvillea glabra
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Flowers
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Bougainvillea glabra with yellow bracts
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True flower of B. glabra (in pale yellow) surrounded by bright magenta-colored bracts. A wide range of colorations exists.
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Multiple paperflowers on a shrub
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Bougainvillea glabra or paperflower, captured in West Bengal, India
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Pollen grains of Bougainvillea glabra from Mumbai
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See also
References
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- ↑ Common names for Lesser Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea glabra)—Encyclopedia of Life
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". (96 Kb)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- ↑ Yasin J. Nasir: Flora of West Pakistan 115: Nyctaginaceae. Stewart Herbarium, Gordon College (et al.), Rawalpindi 1977, p. 13.
- ↑ Andreas Bärtels: Tropical plants . Ornamental and useful plants. 5th, revised edition. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, Template:ISBN , p. 186 .
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
- ↑ Peter Schönfelder, Ingrid Schönfelder: The cosmos-Canary flora. Over 1000 species and 60 tropical ornamental trees (= Kosmos nature guide ). 3. Edition. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2012, Template:ISBN , pp. 288, 289 .
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Bibliography
- Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".