Bougainvillea glabra, the lesser bougainvillea or paperflower, is the most common species of bougainvillea used for bonsai. It is an evergreen, climbing shrub with thick, thorny stems and drooping branches that are glabrous or sparsely hairy. The leaf blade is ovate to ovate-lanceolate, pointed, sparsely fluffy hairy on the underside and bald on the top. The leaf-like bracts are purple, oblong or elliptical, pointed, grow individually in pairs or in groups of three on flower stems.
The crown tube is greenish, clearly angled, sparsely downy hairy, ribbed and points away from the flower stalk. The tip is lobed five times and forms a short, spread, white or yellowish hem. Tiny white flowers usually appear in clusters surrounded by colorful papery bracts, hence the name paperflower. The leaves are dark green, variable in shape. Being of medical importance, the infusion of the plant`s tender leaves and bracts is used orally to treat gastrointestinal problems diarrhoea, stomach pain, and respiratory conditions asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, chest pain, fever, pneumonia, whooping cough.
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