The Lesser Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea glabra) is an evergreen, flowering plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is also known as the Paperflower.
It is native to countries in South America, from Brazil to Peru.
It is a climbing shrub with thick, thorny stems and drooping branches, growing to about 3 metres (10-12 feet) tall.
Its leaves are 5-13 centimetres (2-5 inches) long and 3-6 centimetres (1-2 inches) wide.
It has tiny white flowers in clusters, surrounded by colourful, papery bracts in pink, purple, red, or orange.
The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene.
The Lesser Bougainvillea tends to bloom all year round in equatorial regions. Elsewhere, it blooms seasonally.
Photographed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, September 2018 and Nairobi, Kenya, June 2017.
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
MARTINA NICOLLS – MartinaNicollsWebsite
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