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.
WAX VINE
Hoya carnosa R. Brown
Noticeable for its thick, shining, oval leaves is the Wax Vine. Hidden among the leaves are the clusters of fragrant, waxy, white flowers. They grow in umbels, the flower stems radiating from a single point on the main stem. The small blossoms are shaped like creamy-white stars, and each flower contains a smaller star in its center. This is white against a pink flush at the base of the petals. In another variety, the flower is brownish. They give off a strong fragrance, especially in the evening. ([Plate XIII])