Definition of "bougainvillea" [bougainvillea]

• 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. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The bougainvillea were an explosion of purple, pink, crimson, and all the shades in between, in the bright, hot, and unrelenting sun."
• "Then you'd realize that "bougainvillea" is ... etcetera etcetera etcetera..."
• "Watch out for cold, clear nights and protect tender plants such as bougainvillea, citrus, fuchsias and succulents that are open to the sky and vulnerable to frost."