Common names: Bougainvillea

Taxonomic name: Bougainvillea species

Family: Nyctagineacea

Can be used for: Spain relief (especially sore throats), fever, infections, stomach acidity, type 2 diabetes, diarrhoea, ulcers, high cholesterol

Area of origin: South America

Healing constituents: I’m still working on understanding many of them. Check back soon!

Warnings: Contact with the sap can cause skin rashes in some people.

You might be surprised to learn that Bougainvillea plants are used in herbal medicine. Surprisingly too, for such a common plant that is often thought as an ornamental, a lot of research has been done into the beneficial compounds that are found within. There are so many compounds that it, figuratively, makes my head spin and they’re way beyond kitchen herbalism. Wow! what a plant!

There are two varieties Bougainvillea spectabilis and B. glabra that we’ve used. I would assume that the older varieties are more reliable than newer hybrids.

You can eat the fresh flowers too – they are a little bitter but still tasty.

A tea made from flowers and leaves  is used for coughs and sore throats. It is also used to reduce acidity in the stomach and helps protect our livers. Bougainvillea can be used by women as wash made from an infusion of Bougainvillea for some cases of leucorrhoea or a tea for regulating menstrual flow. I’m not sure of the energetics of Bougainvillea at this point in time. I need to do more research.

Also, there have been reports of its beneficial use in cases of type 2 diabetes because it contains a chemical called ‘pinitol’ that mimics insulin. Contemporary research has found compounds in Bougainvillea that helps kill cancer cells.

I’ve only used Bougainvillea tea for sore throat and at another time for stomach acidity and it worked a treat on both. There you go. Another useful medicinal plant that you may have in your garden.

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