Bright Bougainvillea

I captured this shot at nearby park on my morning walk. I love the way sunlight falls on these beautiful flowers.

Here are some quick facts about Bougainvillea:

1. Bougainvillea tends to flower all year round in equatorial regions. Elsewhere, they are seasonal bloomers. They grow best in somewhat dry, fertile soil. Bloom cycles are typically four to six weeks.

2.They are thorny, woody vines growing anywhere from 1 to 12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their spiky thorns.

3. 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 colours associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow.

4. Many of today’s bougainvillea are the result of interbreeding among few species recognized by botanists. Currently, there are over 300 varieties of bougainvillea around the world.

I collected these facts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainvillea.