Birth flower for November 16
Bougainvillea
Meaning: Passion
Those papery magenta "petals" are actually bracts; the real flowers are the three tiny white tubes in the middle. The plant is named after French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, whose 18th-century round-the-world voyage recorded it in Brazil. Helping the expedition botanist was Jeanne Baret, who sailed disguised as a man and is credited as the first woman to circle the globe.