This beautiful climbing shrub, is one of the plants most colorful and recognizable garden, ideal for covering walls and walls reaching 3 to 4 meters high. In temperate climates, such as La Gomera and the Canary Islands in general, flowers almost all year, you need plenty of sunlight and can live up to 30 years.They can survive at low temperatures up to 6-7 C° and summer withstand elevated temperatures above 30 C°.
The curious thing about this plant is that colored parts we see are not really flowers, but bracts (various colors: purple, red, pink, orange, white ...), flowers are tiny and inconspicuous. This also occurs in other plants such as poinsettias.
Bougainvillea generic name, was baptized by Philibert Commerson (1727-1773) in honor of the French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811) who brought to Europe from Brazil to complete their journey of scientific exploration around the world. Below you can see the beauty bougainvilllea in our garden.
Count of Bougainville, plus marine, was a diplomat, soldier, naturalist and amateur philosopher and was known for his contributions to geography and science during the eighteenth century
Bougainville in 1766, after the defeat of France in the Seven Years' War, Louis XV received permission and funding to undertake a world tour by boat. It would become the 14th navigator of Western history, and the first French to circumnavigate the world.
Between 1766 and 1769 he sailed around the world in two ships, collecting species of flora and fauna and opening seaways.
The expedition, would have a scientific team of astronomer Véron and naturalist Philibert Commerson doctor and also a cartoonist.
A Philibert Commerson, as only botanical board, is credited with the discovery of dozens of new species that the expedition brought to Western knowledge ... although recently it has been discovered that Commerson spent most of the patient journey and that really was his assistant who did most of the work.
But who was his assistant? His assistant, was later unmasked as Jeanne Baret (1740-1807), Commerson's mistress, the balloon would thus become the first woman to circumnavigate. No one sensed the deceit until they reached Tahiti and discovered the natives themselves.
Throughout his time aboard the Jeanne Baret, he collected plants with Commerson in locations such as Rio de Janeiro, the Strait of Magellan, Tahiti, Mauritius and Madagascar. When the poor health of Commerson prevented him from carrying out fieldwork, Baret was responsible for all collections, including the collection of the most famous expedition species, bougainvillea, found in Brazil and whose flower would be given to the first wife of Napoleon.
Currently, in traditional Mexican medicine, (central and southern Mexico), flowers and leaves of bougainvillea (bougainvillea) in teas or tea, especially in cases of respiratory ailments such as cough, asthma, bronchitis and flu are used.In the kitchen it can be used as a decorative ingredient because it can dehydrate with egg whites and sugar over a hot oven, giving a great splash of color to the plate.
In our gardens you can see his great tropical beauty.