[boo-guh
n-vil-ee-uh, -vil-yuh, boh-] 
| 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. |
| bou·gain·vil·le·a also bou·gain·vil·lae·a (bōō'gən-vĭl'ē-ə, -vĭl'yə, -vē'ə, bō'-) n. Any of several South American woody shrubs or vines of the genus Bougainvillea having groups of three petallike, showy, variously colored bracts attached to the flowers. [New Latin Bougainvillea, genus name, after Louis Antoine de Bougainville.] |