ABSTRACT
Bougainvillea species are vigorous, thorny vines grown in subtropical to tropical areas for their display of large, colorful bracteoles which are associated with rather small, inconspicuous florets. They are commonly seen growing on arbors or building roofs, or as a rambling ground cover if unsupported. The two main species of Bougainvillea used horticulturally are B. spectabilis and B. glabra, but B. peruviana is also used to some extent. Much hybridizing has occurred between and within these and other species and several of the horticulturally important cvs are species hybrids. The inflorescence is a determinate shoot located distally to the indeterminate vegetative axillary bud in the axil of each leaf. Growth retardants such as ancymidol, daminozide and chloromequat promote flowering substantially in greenhouse culture under short-day and to a lesser degree under long-day conditions. Inflorescence development as a function of assimilate supply and partitioning has been studied extensively in Bougainvillea by indirect methods.
