Beware the thorns

I cut down some of the bougainvillea in the front today. There are two separate bushes there, one is a deep pinky-red, the other is the typical purple. I cut off a lot of the blossoms and put them in a vase before actually beginning pruning, and they look beautiful. They don’t last long though – the flowers were already dropping off when I was putting them in to the vase, which is so weird because they have no problem staying attached when they’re blowing around outside. I was using thick leather working gloves, but one thorn entered my thumb through the glove with much force. It was painful. I’m sure there is some sort of poison on the thorns which makes a wound really sting. But it’s just my theory.