The Bloom That Crossed Oceans: Bougainvillea & The Botanist in Disguise
A flower born from secrecy and survival. Bougainvillea’s journey began with a disguised woman aboard a ship — and bloomed across colonial gardens into modern balconies.
Aporupa Mary
6/5/20251 min read
She wasn’t supposed to be there.
In 1766, a French woman named Jean Baret disguised herself as a man and boarded a naval ship — not to escape, but to explore. Women weren’t allowed on scientific voyages, but Jean had other plans. Alongside naturalist Philibert Commerson, she became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.
And it was on that voyage that she helped collect a stunning climbing vine from South America. That vine would later be named Bougainvillea, after the expedition leader — not after Jean, who actually discovered and documented it.
But the story doesn’t end there.
Bougainvillea soon made its way to colonial ports, Indian gardens, and Portuguese courtyards. It became a survivor's bloom — thriving in dry sun, climbing over boundaries, turning dull walls into wild poetry.
What began as a hidden flower on a secret journey now blooms from Mumbai to Mexico, from balconies in Lisbon to gardens in Lucknow.
It climbed walls. It crossed oceans. It carried a woman's spirit into history.
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📺 [Watch our Bougainvillea film on YouTube →](https://youtu.be/i0fICUT8NyQ)