The species grow 1 to 12 metres and 3 to 39 ft tall, scrambling over other plants with their spiky thorns. They are evergren where rainfall occurs all year, or decidouse if there is a hot 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 six with the bright colours associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea is sometimes called "paper flower" because its bracts are thin and papery. The fruit is a narrow five-lobed.
