Plants woody climbers, the more virous shoots with recurved thorns. Leaves alternate to subopposite, petiolate. Inflorescences axillary, pedunculate, 3-flowered cymes, each flower subtended by a persistent, often brightly colored ovate bract that is adnate to its pedicel. Perianths 5-merous, trumpet-shaped but with slightly inflated bases, pale yellow; stamens about 8, not exserted. Anthocarps fusiform, not sticky, remaining attached to the papery bracts.
Bougainvillea includes about 14 species. It is native to tropical America. Many of the species are widely cultivated because of their very colourful bracts.
Thulin considered most Bougainvilleas grown in Somaliland and Somalia to be cultivars of Bougainvillea x buttiana which is a hybrid between Bougainvillea glabra and Bougainvillea peruviana.
Note: GBIF records include introduced and cultivated plants. Consequently, the distribution shown often differs from statements about a taxon's native distribution.