It is a long way from the wooded shores of the St. Lawrence River west of Quebec City to dense forests of tropical Brazil. There are also vast differences in floral discoveries. They share at least one name though--Bougainvillea.
Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811) was stationed in North America during the Seven Years' War. As captain of a regiment of dragoons, 1756 found him in Canada. Two years later in in fierce fighting, he was wounded. Unable to intervene in Wolfe's successful assault on Quebec City in 1759, he was forced to surrender and, with other French officers, shipped back to France. Admired for his leadership abilities he was appointed to lead two ships on a voyage of exploration and discovery around the world 1763-69. Bougainville's subsequent book, published in 1771, was a sensation.