Flower shades of all these plants vary considerably, the purple hues ranging through lavender and pink, while the entire color range in golden tones appears in the lateritia, varying from a golden buff through rich terra cotta red, to orange and almost scarlet. All are practically alike in form. The brilliant color is not due to the true flower but to modified leaves or bracts, three of which enclose the true flowers. The latter are small, tubular and pale yellow. The leaves of the plant are small, rather triangular in shape, with wavy margins.
The stems of Crimson Lake have large thorns. The plant climbs strongly during the summer months, then in winter, its clusters of flowers appear at the end of its branches. (Plate XIII)
The orange or terracotta-colored variety makes a gorgeous mass of flaming color in the winter season while the purples add their exotic hue to the kaleidoscope. The grounds of St. Louis College make a feature of purple and red Bougainvillea, while Punahou School has a fine plant of the orange.
Bougainvilleas are natives of Brazil. They were named for de Bougainville, a French navigator who lived from 1729 to 1811. The plant belongs to the four o’clock family.
WHITE THUNBERGIA _Thunbergia grandiflora Roxburgh Var. alba._
One of the most conspicuous flowers in Hawaii carries starry white flowers about four inches across against its green wall of leaves, or dramatically drops these flowers in waving streamers sometimes two or three feet long.
Rows of buds develop at the branch ends and the flowers begin to open at the top. As they open, the branch grows also until it nearly doubles its first length.
The individual flowers are funnel-shaped with a pale yellow throat, the tube broadening to five lobes. Leaves are roughly oval, or shaped like an angular heart, and are quite rough to the touch. Because of the dramatic appearance of the long white streamers, the plant has become very popular in Honolulu in recent years. It is a native of India, a member of the Acanthus family. (Plate XIII)
The blue flowering species, _Thunbergia laurifolia_ was established much earlier than the white variety. The latter however has outstripped the former in popularity. The blue Thunbergia does not trail its flowers so conspicuously as does the white and has leaves which suggest the laurel, giving the specific name, _laurifolia_ to the plant. It is sometimes called Blue Sky Flower.