This is my submission for 
This Week's Theme: Flowers
The Bougainvillea plant is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees. The flowers are actually very small and each cluster is surrounded by a variety of coloured bracts which include pink, magenta, purple, red, bronze, orange, yellow, and white.
There are 18 species in the genus and are native to South America and Southern Argentina. The vines grow from 3 to 40 feet tall and will easily take over other plants.
They are also characterized by their spiky thorns which have a black, waxy substance on their tips. These plants survive without much water of fertiliser. Although they are very hardy, vigorous pruning is not recommended as it can slow the flowering process down which causes them to go into a strong, vegetative growth phase. This is when long, curved thorns appear on the leaf axis rather than the flowers.
The thorns enable them to get a grip on tree branches and scramble up towards the light. Bougainvilleas are evergreen in climates which receive rainfall all year around and deciduous if there is a dry season. Bougainvillea Glabra are often referred to as “Paper flowers,” because of the thin, papery texture of the bracts.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainvillea
and www.burkesbackyard.com.au
