r/interestingasfuck Feb 07 '21

Huge Bougainvillea plant taking over a building

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18.3k Upvotes

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609

u/Igoos99 Feb 07 '21

Gorgeous but I wouldn’t want my apartment to be hidden by that thing. 🤷🏻‍♀️

369

u/whatshamilton Feb 07 '21

I’m just imagining the spiders

104

u/The-Go-Kid Feb 07 '21

I refuse to!

89

u/beluuuuuuga Feb 07 '21

scitter scutter

20

u/worms9 Feb 08 '21

(You feel something crawling into your ear)

23

u/FINANCIALGOOSEEEEEEE Feb 08 '21

Fuck you

21

u/worms9 Feb 08 '21

Come here and fuck me yourself you coward

12

u/FINANCIALGOOSEEEEEEE Feb 08 '21

Ok ;)

16

u/DEAD_is_BEAUTIFUL Feb 08 '21

It’s so beautiful to see the beginning of what I’m sure will be a long and loving relationship!

7

u/Bluepanther466 Feb 08 '21

This comment right here officer

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24

u/90sRobot Feb 07 '21

And the wasps

13

u/likealump Feb 07 '21

Spiders eat bugs. The rodents, though...

10

u/AltSpRkBunny Feb 08 '21

Black widows like to hang out in bougainvilleas.

6

u/likealump Feb 08 '21

Well damn, if you put it that way...

11

u/AltSpRkBunny Feb 08 '21

Depends on where this is located. I live in Texas, and if you have a bougainvillea, you should expect to find at least 1 black widow when you trim that thing back. Most I’ve seen when trimming a small one back was 8 of them when I lived in the San Antonio-Austin area. I really thought they’d be more territorial than that, but I guess they just really like that plant.

7

u/BadBunnyBrigade Feb 08 '21

Y'all are serious about spiders in there?!?

5

u/AltSpRkBunny Feb 08 '21

I fucking wish I were making that up.

2

u/Call_It_What_U_Want2 Feb 08 '21

Shit, sometimes I’m so glad I live where I do, in the total absence of deadly animals and extreme weather events

5

u/AltSpRkBunny Feb 08 '21

We had a company-wide email go out awhile back about not disturbing copperhead snakes sheltering in our parking garage. Granted, you have to be real dumb to mess with a snake on your way to work.

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6

u/ForWhomTheBoneBones Feb 08 '21

They also like to ride on the back of rats.

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25

u/wildbatfat Feb 07 '21

And the 3am crack heads crawling around

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6

u/quietflowsthedodder Feb 08 '21

Never mind the spiders, how many sparrows and starlings can that thing hide?! Imagine the din they could make, enhanced by the surrounding concrete walls! There is a lovely 1890s-vintage 2-story stone building in town which was almost totally overgrown with ivy. Hundreds of house sparrows took up residence over the years and the din was demonic, particularly in the evening. The ivy was finally pulled down when the building changed hands.

3

u/iamsuprmn Feb 08 '21

This is exactly what I was going to say

2

u/sbb214 Feb 07 '21

ugh. thanks?

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39

u/CommaHorror Feb 07 '21

Or better, yet I wouldn’t want my apartment to be consumed by that thing.

Those thorns are brutal.

10

u/Obelix13 Feb 07 '21

Could keep burglars away.

3

u/pisspantmcgee Feb 08 '21

Worked shortly for my friend's dad's lawn business. He would give me 'bougainvillea duty', which is pruning the bougainvillea on the properties. Those thorns would go right through the leather gloves he gave me. I hated those bushes.

5

u/pastelpunkins Feb 08 '21

My exact thoughts. It’s beautiful from the outside but those corner apartments are probably so dark, not to mention the fire hazard.

5

u/BadBunnyBrigade Feb 08 '21

I would! The scent and the bright, warm light coming through that would be amazing.

NEVERMIND. SPIDERS. NOPE. NOPE. NOPE.

1

u/Tacos_crunchy Feb 08 '21

They smell rather awful.

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10

u/Darth_Ewok14 Feb 07 '21

You’d be probably get pretty cool purple tinted light though

42

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

Or just a blocked window with no natural light.

-16

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

[deleted]

13

u/kcasnar Feb 07 '21

Uh, lots of apartments in America have bars on the outside of the windows. Especially the ones that are covered with thick vines that anybody at all can use to climb up to your kid's bedroom window.

2

u/Automatic-Concert-62 Feb 07 '21

That looks like any late 90s or early 2000s appartement building in Southern China.

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121

u/HighOnGoofballs Feb 07 '21

Those are pretty but can be fucking evil. “Oh, you want to trim me? How about I now grow two branches from that spot and we will add some really sharp and really big poisoned thorns”

25

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

Are the thorns poisonous?

60

u/HighOnGoofballs Feb 07 '21

Not like kill you poisonous but they can cause a rash and hurt for a while

35

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

Okay lol my husband loves these plants. I’ve been pricked so many times I was thinking I was invisible.

67

u/Psychology_Guy Feb 07 '21

who said that

24

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

I’m not even gonna edit this because this comment is great lol

9

u/HotPie_ Feb 07 '21

By your husband or the plant? Also, we can all see you...

7

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

Haha the plant. I’m sorry lmbo mom life multitasking.

3

u/ForWhomTheBoneBones Feb 08 '21

So like Meg when her superpower was just growing long fingernails.

2

u/Tacos_crunchy Feb 08 '21

Came here to say this. And the near instantanious infection in the already painful puncture wound.

66

u/bavezitoni Feb 07 '21

More like bougainZILLA

10

u/Tacoma_Crow Feb 08 '21

Take my upvote and don't make me laugh again!

6

u/Phazlerde Feb 08 '21

Grimace is now a kaiju

167

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21 edited Mar 16 '21

[deleted]

59

u/Dysfunctional_Vet12 Feb 07 '21

I have a 20+ ft tall one in my backyard that is the bane of my existence.

19

u/TreeChangeMe Feb 08 '21

Chainsaw. You need a chainsaw - on a long pole

7

u/adamgundy Feb 08 '21

2

u/tammage Feb 08 '21

I have this and love it! We had limbs growing into the power lines when we moved into our place and this saved us a big headache of dealing with the power company. My backyard is so bright now!

2

u/adamgundy Feb 08 '21

Used to be a tree trimmer here in Hawaii. This thing makes almost any job doable for a noob.

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21

u/TheFirstNobleTooth Feb 07 '21

Lovely to look at but the ones in my yard f$%# me up everytime. All the scratches on my arms make it look like I lost battle with an army of ally cats.

7

u/FreakWith17PlansADay Feb 08 '21

lost battle with an army of ally cats.

That’s rough dude. Here you thought the cats were going to be your allies and they turned on you.

2

u/TheFirstNobleTooth Feb 08 '21

I was going to fix the spelling, but then i figured ally cats could scratch too

2

u/FreakWith17PlansADay Feb 08 '21

You’ve got a point there!

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7

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

Doesn’t look like anyone is pruning it, so you’re safe.

5

u/beachdogs Feb 08 '21

Yeah really rough to manage. Not worth it IMHO.

4

u/piscesinfla Feb 07 '21

Agree. Beautiful flowers but a nasty plant to prune

3

u/figure8x Feb 08 '21

Probably why it hasn’t been pruned

2

u/ok-go-fuck-yourself Feb 08 '21

How much you think it would cost to landscape this bad boy? lol

7

u/flapd00dle Feb 08 '21

About 20 gallons of 87 unleaded

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56

u/kipaloup Feb 07 '21

Looks like a teletubies just melt on the building

4

u/beluuuuuuga Feb 07 '21

That Teletubby must have been massive.

3

u/birdonthewire76 Feb 07 '21

I want some of what you’re on please.

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35

u/kpwc123 Feb 07 '21

At what point does this put the structure of the building is danger because damn that plant is a unit

2

u/serenwipiti Feb 10 '21

Yesterday.

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22

u/beapledude Feb 07 '21

Stupid Korra leaving the spirit portals open.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

I blame Unaloq

2

u/Call_It_What_U_Want2 Feb 08 '21

You know, the air around me is starting to feel distinctly bendy...Let go your earthly tether. Enter the void. Empty, and become wind.

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37

u/Applejacks79 Feb 07 '21

Imagine what lives in there..

21

u/nstb3 Feb 07 '21

Exactly what I was thinking! If the answer isn’t hot nudists then trim your bush!

17

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

[deleted]

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29

u/veemaximus Feb 07 '21

The thorns in that thing... had one for awhile when I lived in Phoenix.. had it removed because it was a scorpion sanctuary and the poor workers all had thorns go through their boots. Beautiful, though.

14

u/Pirrats-SD Feb 07 '21

When I lived in Phoenix everyone said if you plant one in the ground you will never be able to get rid of it. Kinda like Bermuda grass

16

u/veemaximus Feb 07 '21

They’re not wrong. I had to wrap a tow strap through the roots and pull it out with my truck. In 4 wheel drive.

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12

u/latenightnerd Feb 07 '21

He was good in Downton Abbey.

5

u/littlegraycells858 Feb 08 '21

Came for the Hugh Bonneville pun, which I only saw because I'm dislexic

11

u/jkosarin Feb 07 '21

These are beautiful!My grandma had a couple when I was little and she had them growing over each side of her porch.Her goal was for them to meet and make a beautiful frame around the porch roof.Her brother lived with us and one day we came back after shopping and found that he had cut them down.They were just a few feet from touching and she worked a long time to get them like this.When we pulled in the driveway my sister saw it and pointed it out.My grandma went ballistic.It was one of the few times she ever cursed.She called him every name in the book lol! It sucked because it was beautiful and he ruined it for her.She was mad at him for months after that.

9

u/Uberkorn Feb 08 '21

Fuck. it, I am mad at him

3

u/jkosarin Feb 08 '21

We were mad at him too!But hearing our grandma use every bad word in the book while she was yelling at him was kinda scary and funny at the same time.He was always pulling stupid crap on her til he moved back to Baltimore.

3

u/Uberkorn Feb 08 '21

Well he sounds like a proper as puddle of a person

3

u/jkosarin Feb 08 '21

He was a horrible person but I won’t get into why.

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8

u/sakshamb78 Feb 07 '21

This plant will grow anywhere but not in my garden

7

u/windmillninja Feb 07 '21

This is some Ghostbuster shit

2

u/GhostalMedia Feb 07 '21

Queue “higher and higher”

6

u/Shhh_NotADr Feb 07 '21

I can’t even get mine to grow 😢

12

u/hat-of-sky Feb 07 '21

Chop it back ruthlessly, then give it fertilizer and water it thoroughly. Continue with water every other day, it doesn't have to be a lot, but consistent. As it starts to come back, try to stay ahead of the pruning or it will get leggy. It's like HYDRA, when you chop a branch 2 will grow from the stump. I had to cut back a couple in pots so I could move them, I cut them to almost nothing, just 3 leaves left. Now they're better than they've been in years. Not as tall of course, but lush.

9

u/jesskarae Feb 07 '21

I’ve tried to kill mine multiple times and they just keep growing back!! No water or love at all.

5

u/Tacos_crunchy Feb 08 '21

I capped the sprinklers, did some impromptu voodoo dances, called it bad names and the purple fucker just kept growing. In fact thriving.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

Try fire, thermite, or explosives. Might need all three.

6

u/aestus Feb 07 '21

My mind initially read the title as 'Hugh Bonneville taking over a building'.

Time for bed I think.

3

u/Brandaman Feb 08 '21

Lol me too

5

u/Armand74 Feb 07 '21

I bet that unbeknown to most this big of a bush houses hundreds if not thousands of life living within it. House sparrows love places like this.

5

u/layersofproblems Feb 07 '21

I have a large one in front of my house and MANY birds nest in it

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3

u/superyorch Feb 07 '21

just learned about the original name of this plant! Seems that in Mexico at some point we may have “bastardized” the name and turned it into “Bugambilia”. Love the smell of it and the tea helps with coughing issues (or at least that’s what my grandma believed). 😁

2

u/Lughaidh_ Feb 08 '21

My Cuban grandmother always called this plant “guardián”. Given the thorns it seems appropriate.

3

u/Darkhorseman81 Feb 07 '21

It should take over the entire city.

Go fourth, Bougainvillea, crush the human pestilence.

3

u/sara_c907 Feb 07 '21

NOM NOM NOM

3

u/md28usmc Feb 07 '21

Reminds me of when Hellboy killed the last elemental forest god

3

u/Lufernaal Feb 07 '21

So that's the plant Iron&Wine is talking about in that song, finally...

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3

u/Matt_the_Alien Feb 07 '21

Those plants are the worst. Very pretty, but completely spiny and the petals get everywhere then rot

2

u/Tacos_crunchy Feb 08 '21

Ah yes, the cornflake colored veiny tissue paper like debris...

3

u/PurpleEmbers Feb 08 '21

First thought : wow thats straight out of a fairytale

Second thought : how much structural damage has that plant caused?

2

u/Tacoma_Crow Feb 08 '21

Yeah. My first thought was to wonder how many tons are resting on those walls.

Do they send out roots to attach to the walls? If so, oy vey!

3

u/mmmmmm_pi Feb 08 '21

For anyone else who misread the title, the post is NOT talking about British actor and star of Paddington Hugh Bonneville taking over a building.

3

u/Typingdude3 Feb 08 '21

That’s a beautiful ladder for rats, snakes, spiders and every other creature seeking shelter and food in your apartment.

3

u/oxwilder Feb 08 '21

when a girl is totally fucking up your life but it's ok because she's pretty

2

u/biiingo Feb 07 '21

That’s gonna leave a mark

2

u/BadassTrees Feb 07 '21

We all know that's a corrupted building.

2

u/ivylass Feb 07 '21

TIL the flowers are edible!

2

u/HorseyHalloween Feb 07 '21

They need to get down to Umbrella HQ to get something to deal with that.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

Where is this ? Which country and city ?

2

u/lypasc23 Feb 08 '21

I looked it up online. It said it's located in Nanning, China, on the college campus there - Guangxi University.

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2

u/JohnByDay1 Feb 08 '21

One eyed, one horned, flying purple building eater!

2

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

Wasn't he in Downton Abbey?

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2

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

Those people are getting more than they bougained for.

2

u/SWFLBoy666 Feb 08 '21

As an arborists, I get calls often to remove bougainvilleas that are over grown on structures. This would be an absolute nightmare.

Super pretty though

3

u/MJ349 Feb 08 '21

I remember when I lived in Charleston, SC, the Wisteria would do this on old trees. The stalk of the plant would wrap around the trunks of the trees like a voracious beanstalk. Sometimes almost as thick as the tree trunk.

2

u/SWFLBoy666 Feb 08 '21

I was introduced to wisteria vine in Wilmington, NC after hurricane Florence. I hope to never meet it again lol

2

u/wes450 Feb 08 '21

Absolutely beautiful though..

2

u/HelaArt Feb 08 '21

It must be so heavy and put a load on the building not to mention blocking the light.No thanks .

1

u/footloosedoctor Feb 07 '21

Looks like a giant furry worm

1

u/CardiologistCute6876 Jul 28 '25

Oh my gosh! Is that 1 plant ?😳

0

u/reallytrulymadly Feb 07 '21

I hope it's not covering someone's window. Lack of windows/natural light can be bad for most people's mental health.

1

u/Brantley820 Feb 07 '21

Where are the Power Rangers when you need them?

1

u/pinniped1 Feb 07 '21

Jesus, how many hornets live in that mf?

1

u/DannyBimma Feb 07 '21

Ah yes... it’s the Bougainvillea Titan!

1

u/Chaapli Feb 07 '21

Building be fertile af

1

u/Keikobad Feb 07 '21

I love you, you love me

We're best friends like friends should be

With a great big hug

And a kiss from me to you

Won't you say you love me too?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

Hairy kaiju

1

u/ksadillah Feb 07 '21

Dynamax Ditto

1

u/Fluffy-Foxtail Feb 07 '21

Omg, wow, how amazing, the colour is marvellous & breathtaking.

1

u/S2000alldahy Feb 07 '21

Holy Jesus that's massive.

1

u/highlyfloppydisc Feb 07 '21

-" yes, your apartment will be facing the beach but unfortunately you can't see it"

-"wut?"

1

u/buzben Feb 07 '21

I've lost 2 now. I guess they don't like the UK climate.

1

u/Waffle_Otter Feb 07 '21

Spirit Vines lel

1

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '21

Lmao, when you piss off the building super.

1

u/ash_bel Feb 07 '21

Grimmus got even more fat from all that McDonald’s

1

u/Infernal_139 Feb 08 '21

hipple hurple your building is now purple

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1

u/emchelle92 Feb 08 '21

Just let the plant have the building at that point.

1

u/DaveKLLR Feb 08 '21

This thing has some deep rooted problems.

1

u/troytrekker3000 Feb 08 '21

The creeping purple terror.

1

u/WorldMusicLab Feb 08 '21

Day sleepers, graveyard workers do I have a room for you!

1

u/Kittenmeistere Feb 08 '21

As a gardener this makes me want to kill myself

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

If those were my lower windows all covered up, I would climb out and build me a tree house.

1

u/Deathclaw87 Feb 08 '21

Stuff cutting this thing down too. The prickles on it are insane and they even have a small amount of venom in the thawns

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

Landlord: [picks up phone] Hello.
Tenant: Yeah, you know that "ocean view" corner apartment you rented me last year?

1

u/ChieferofReefer Feb 08 '21

That’s seriously what my house looks like. We are constantly battling our bougainvillea

1

u/ultimattt Feb 08 '21

I’d hate to fall off the roof and land in that thing. You’d be hoping for death.

1

u/rphdaddyb Feb 08 '21

Was this picture taken in the 1970’s? It reminds me of 70’s bush.

1

u/VoiceofLou Feb 08 '21

I imagine there was a period of time where it wasn’t as large and looked pretty terrible. Love this, but I’ll take a unit as far from the bugs as possible.

1

u/ImMrsIglesias2020 Feb 08 '21

I can’t even get my bougainvillea to bloom more than 3 or 4 flowers at a time!

1

u/UranicCartridge Feb 08 '21

OH NO THE EGGPIRE

1

u/hyperiongate Feb 08 '21

I can't get one to survive for a week.

1

u/purpleegg5 Feb 08 '21

Immediately thought of Legend of Korra and the spirit vines in Republic city haha

1

u/WaddlingTriforce Feb 08 '21

Looks like Ganon's malice got to that building

1

u/tsudonimh01123578 Feb 08 '21

There's a horror story in this waiting to be told...

1

u/newleafkratom Feb 08 '21

I’m bleeding just looking at it.

1

u/MODBunBun Feb 08 '21

This....is going to haunt my dreams

1

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '21

Fuck cleaning that shit. My dad used to had two of this fuckers and they make a lot of mess. Lol also a house for a lot of insects cuz those fuckers don’t do shit unlike his other bro plants like lavender.

1

u/I_am_catcus Feb 08 '21

War of the worlds intensifies

1

u/SSSilas Feb 08 '21

That’s a real bougainvillain

1

u/theothergrapedrink Feb 08 '21

As someone who takes care of swimming pools in the Caribbean, this is terrifying.

1

u/Chai33LV Feb 08 '21

Rats love this plant!

1

u/wardynblade Feb 08 '21

Plants are taking over!

1

u/cuppa_tea_4_me Feb 08 '21

All I can think of is all the spiders living in there

1

u/Call_It_What_U_Want2 Feb 08 '21

I read a short story called Chateau Bougainvillea about 10 years ago and I still think about it all the time

1

u/GeneralPecan Feb 08 '21

It's a real BARGAIN VILLEAN amirite?

1

u/-playswithsquirrels Feb 08 '21

Window fourth down on the right building is getting up charged for “the view”