English: Great bougainville.
Region: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina; introduced in many other areas.
Habitat: rainforests; warm temperate to the tropical zones; hardiness zones 10-11; prefers full sun, dry conditions, dry season, does not well in perpetually humid conditions; prefers rich, well-drained soil, fertile soil.
Content: pinitol, helpful in non-insulin diabetes.
Use: flower bracts for making an attractive, violet-coloured drink, 'Agua de Buganvilia', with a refreshingly delicate taste; ornamental !!.
BotanyEvergreen, climbing woody vine or shrub; supports itself on other plants by means of thorns carried in the leaf axils; 4 to 12 m high.
Stems: thorny, pubescent; up to 10 metres long.
Leaves: heart-shaped.
Flowers: small, white, inconspicuous, highlighted by several brightly colored modified leaves called bracts; bracts ranging from white, red, mauve, purple-red, orange.
Fruit: small, inconspicuous, dry, elongated achene.