Bougainvillea; a beautiful flower, a love story, and the first woman to circumnavigate the globe!

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__History:
The first European to describe these plants (Bougainvillea) was Philibert Commerçon, a botanist accompanying French Navy admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville during his voyage of circumnavigation of the Earth, and first published for him by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789. It is possible that the first European to observe these plants was Jeanne Baré, Commerçon's lover and assistant who was an expert in botany. Because she was not allowed on ship as a woman, she disguised herself as a man in order to make the journey and thus became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.

__Description:
Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees with flower-like spring leaves near its flowers. Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. Bougainvillea are also known as buganvilla (Spain), bugambilia (Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Philippines), bouganvilla (India), pokok bunga kertas (Indonesia, Malaysia), bougenville (Pakistan), Napoleón(Honduras), jahanamiya (Arab World), veranera (Colombia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama), trinitaria (Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic & Venezuela), Santa Rita (Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay), papelillo (Northern Peru), primavera (Brazil), or Drillingsblume(triplet flower, Germany).

__More information:

1. "Genus: Bougainvillea Comm. ex Juss". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
2. "Bougainvillea Comm. ex Juss". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
3. Ridley, Glynis. "A Female Explorer Discovered On The High Seas". All Things Considered. National Public Radio (NPR). Retrieved 19 February 2012.

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