Blossoms of Bougainvillea in Bayan Baru, Penang.

Thousands of Bougainvillea petals fall to the road every second. This road is full of these trees, I didn't count, but I think there are at least 20 of them lining up at both sides of the road. This road is leading to PISA, Penang. PISA is probably 200 metres away.

If you want to enjoy the spectacular colours of Bougainvilleas, don't waste time, go and see it while they last. It will soon be over. So, take a drive to Persiaran Mahsuri, Bayan Baru, Penang. Send me those photos too.

Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province). Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus. The name comes from Louis Antoine de Bougainville, an admiral in theFrench Navy who discovered the plant in Brazil in 1768.

They are thorny, woody, vines growing anywhere from 1-12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their hooked thorns. The thorns are tipped with a black, waxy substance. They areevergreen 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 sixbracts 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.

(Taken from Wikipedia)