Bougainvillea, a tropical vine known for the beauty of the large, colorful bracts (modified leaves) which surround its flowers. The flowers are small and plain. The bracts may be magenta, purple, yellow, or crimson, and are one inch (2.5 cm) or more long. One common type of bougainvillea has a climbing stem that sometimes reaches a length of 100 feet (30 m).it's has a nickname the "paper flower " due to it's to thin and papery bracts. 