Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to the tropical and subtropical regions of South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). They are thorny, woody, vines growing anywhere from 1-12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their hooked thorns. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, 4-13 cm long and 2-6 cm broad. The actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea glabra is sometimes referred to as "paper flower" because the bracts are thin and papery. The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene. Bougainvilleas are popular ornamental plants in most areas with warm climates, including Australia, the Caribbean, India, Malaysia, the Mediterranean region, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States in Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, and southern Texas.