The Bougainvillea Botanically known as Bougainvillea glabra from Nyctaginaceae family. This is an evergreen shrubby vine, popular for its long-lasting, colorful flower bracts which appear periodically throughout most of the year. The vine species grow anywhere from 1 to 6 m tall, scrambling over other plants with their spiky thorns. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, and decidous if there is a dry season. The actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea can tolerate hot, dry locations fairly well but flowers bountifully in full sun with regular watering. This is generally a low-maintenance plant. Plants often loose many leaves following a flowering period. This usually precedes a new growth flush.