Bougainvillea
´´gənvĭl´ēə) [for L. A. de Bougainville], any plant of the genus Bougainvillea of the family Nyctaginaceae (four-o'clock family); chiefly tropical American woody vines with showy petallike bracts, usually in shades of brilliant red or purple. Bougainvilleas are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Caryophyllales, family Nyctaginaceae.