Fuchsia ( FEW-shə) is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees.
Almost 110 species of Fuchsia are recognized; the vast majority are native to South America, but a few occur north through Central America to Mexico, and also several from New Zealand to Tahiti. One species, F. magellanica, extends as far as the southern tip of South America, occurring on Tierra del Fuego in the cool temperate zone, but the majority are tropical or subtropical.
Taxonomy
The first to be scientifically described, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) about 1696–1697 by the French Minim friar and botanist, Charles Plumier, during his third expedition to the Greater Antilles. He named the new genus after German botanist Leonhart Fuchs (1501–1566,
The fuchsias are most closely related to the northern hemisphere genus Circaea, the two lineages having diverged around 41 million years ago. The presence of Fuchsia in both the Neotropics and the islands of New Zealand and Tahiti likely owes to several dispersal events of Fuchsia across the Antarctic land bridge during the Late Eocene.
Description
Volcano hummingbird feeding from a Fuchsia flower, in Costa Rica.
Fuchsias prefer climates with cool temperatures all year round with no frost; they prefer partial shade and warm temperatures in the morning in most other areas. They need plenty of watering to grow well.
Most fuchsias are shrubs from 0.2 to 4 m (8 in to 13 ft 1 in) tall, but one New Zealand species, the kōtukutuku (F. excorticata), is unusual in the genus in being a tree, growing up to 12–15 m (39–49 ft) tall. Fuchsia leaves are opposite or in whorls of three to five, simple lanceolate, and usually have serrated margins (entire in some species), 1–25 cm long, and can be either deciduous or evergreen, depending on the species.
The flowers are very decorative; they have a pendulous...
