Attempt towards Protection
Bougainvillea 'Mahara'
Narad (Richard Eggenberger)
Copyright 2015
This blog continues our introduction to this spectacular
flowering plant given the significance, 'Protection', by The Mother.
Bougainvilleas are native to South America and abundant in Brazil, but
were imported into Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand and other
tropical areas in the 1800's.
One of the most striking introductions of recent years is the
double-bracted cultivars. They grew in popularity and were distributed
around the world in the 1970's and later. There are no true flowers in
this group. The small bracts are so tight that there are often 20 to 40 in
one cyme (a cyme is a type of inflorescence). The only negative aspect is
that the bracts do not shed after flowering so one has to prune them off
or they become unsightly.
For me it is most interesting to study the significance Mother gave to
this form. She has named the first introduction, a deep magenta from
Manila, Philippines, "Attempt towards Protection".
There are other double forms as well but these were not named by the
Mother and therefore we cannot be certain that they would vibrate with the
same significance.