bougainvillea

Bougainvillea ×buttiana Holttum & Standl.

Bougainvillea’s brightest surfaces are coloured bracts, modified leaves surrounding much smaller flowers. In cultivated bougainvilleas, these papery structures form generous trusses around the inconspicuous true flowers. The climbing framework and bright display have made members of the group familiar ornamentals in warm-climate gardens. RHS Bougainvillea guide

Botanical name

The cited authority recognizes Bougainvillea ×buttiana Holttum & Standl. as a hybrid. Kew POWO: Bougainvillea ×buttiana

Recognizing the plant

Bougainvillea ×buttiana includes climbing or shrubby selections with bract colours that vary among cultivars. The RHS describes cultivated bougainvilleas as woody plants whose thorns help them climb. Some garden selections also have variegated foliage, adding leaf pattern to the bract display. Kew POWO: Bougainvillea ×buttiana RHS Bougainvillea guide

Bloom window

United Kingdom cultivation

RHS guidance for British cultivation gives summer-to-autumn flowering, with frost-free protection over winter. Its advice covers cultivated bougainvilleas, including selections of this hybrid. RHS Bougainvillea cultivation

Native range

Kew identifies this cultivated hybrid as Bougainvillea glabra × B. peruviana. Its recorded history begins with a garden plant in Cartagena, Colombia, taken to Trinidad in 1910 as ‘Mrs. Butt’. The name was later formally described from material cultivated at Singapore Botanic Gardens, linking the hybrid’s botanical identity to a sequence of tropical gardens. Kew POWO: Bougainvillea ×buttiana Phylogeny and Taxonomic Synopsis of Bougainvillea

Botanical sources

Reviewed 2026-10-11. Seasonal development varies with location and growing conditions.