any of several shrubs or vines of the genus Bougainvillea, native to South America, having small flowers with showy, variously colored bracts, and often cultivated in warm regions.
Origin: 1789; < Neo-Latin, named after L. A. de Bougainville
any tropical woody nyctaginaceous widely cultivated climbing plant of the genus Bougainvillea, having inconspicuous flowers surrounded by showy red or purple bracts
[C19: New Latin, named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729--1811), French navigator]
bougainvillaeaorbougainvillaea
—n
[C19: New Latin, named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729--1811), French navigator]