From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbougainvilleabou‧gain‧vil‧le‧a /ˌbuːɡənˈvɪliə/ noun [countable, uncountable] HBPa tropical plant that has red or purple flowers and grows up walls
Examples from the Corpus
bougainvillea• The grandest of these, a bougainvillea, rises above roof level.• Peace in the squares and the narrow lanes, where hibiscus and bougainvillea climbed over sleepy walls.• From the rooftop terrace the Mellors gazed across lilac and bougainvillea bushes to the sea.• His little sister gripped a shoot of fuchsia bougainvillea and wailed.• The white woman picked a branch of magenta bougainvillea flowers and put them in a glass on the table.• The camp was full of pine trees and flowerbeds of bougainvillea and hibiscus.• The smell of bougainvillea, which produces flowers all year round and supplies the wreaths, is in the air.• There was a cypress with bougainvillea climbing up it, and beyond, a landscape of red hills.Origin bougainvillea (1800-1900) Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), French explorer