What does bougainvillea mean?
Word: Bougainvillea
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Bougainvillea means a climbing plant from warm countries, with bright purple, pink, red, orange or white papery parts around its small flowers.
Word origin: Named in honour of the leader of a famous voyage round the world in the 1760s.
How do you spell bougainvillea?
Syllables: bou - gain - vil - lea
Tricky part: The everyday word gain sits inside it. Dropping the i of gain is a very common slip.
Watch out for: bouganvilla, bougenvilea
Memory tip: Look for the ordinary word gain hidden in the middle of this long plant name.
Bougainvillea in a sentence
Example 1: A purple bougainvillea climbs over our school gate.
Example 2: Pink bougainvillea spills over the walls of many old houses in Goa.
Example 3: The traffic island near the station is covered in pink bougainvillea.
Fun Fact
The bright colour does not come from petals at all. It comes from papery leaves called bracts, which surround three tiny, usually white, true flowers.
Practise the CREST Way
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Bougainvillea is named after an explorer from which country?
a) Spain
b) Portugal
c) France
d) Italy
Show answer
c) France. The plant honours the leader of a French voyage round the world in the 1760s.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. bougainvillea 2. jasmine 3. lotus a. a water plant with large flat leaves and pink or white flowers b. a garden climber whose bright bracts surround tiny flowers c. a plant with small, sweet-smelling white flowers
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
b) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
c) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
d) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
Show answer
a) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. The bright climber is bougainvillea, the scented white flower jasmine, and the pond plant the lotus.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
bougainvi____
a) llia
b) lea
c) llea
d) lla
Show answer
c) llea. The climber's name has a double l and ends in ea.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ou' pronounced differently?
a) soup
b) cloud
c) group
d) bougainvillea
Show answer
b) cloud. Cloud has the ow of cow; in the others ou is said oo.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Bougainvillea grows best in ___.
a) deep, cool shade
b) still pond water
c) hot, sunny places
d) cold mountain snow
Show answer
c) hot, sunny places
2. Why is bougainvillea often planted along a school wall?
a) it climbs and spreads quickly
b) it needs snow to grow
c) it must stand in water
d) it flowers only at night
Show answer
a) it climbs and spreads quickly
