Fuchsia

Lore & Background

He named the new genus after German botanist Leonhart Fuchs. 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 across the Antarctic land bridge during the Late Eocene. Most fuchsias are shrubs from 0.2 to 4 m tall, but one New Zealand species, the kōtukutuku (F. excorticata), is unusual in being a tree, growing up to 12–15 m tall. Fuchsia flowers are very decorative, with a pendulous teardrop shape, four long slender sepals and four shorter broader petals. In many species, the sepals are bright red and the petals purple, colors that attract hummingbirds that pollinate them. The fruit is a small berry containing numerous very small seeds. The fruit of F. splendens is reportedly among the best-tasting, with a flavor reminiscent of citrus and black pepper, and can be made into jam.

Reader's Guide

Fuchsias are popular garden shrubs, valued for their showy, pendulous flowers that bloom from late spring through summer and early autumn, and all year in tropical species. They prefer climates with cool temperatures all year round with no frost, partial shade, and plenty of watering. The genus has been classified into multiple sections, with the largest section, Fuchsia, containing 64 currently recognized species. Horticultural fuchsias may be categorized as upright and bushy or trailing, and some can be trained as hedges. Hardy species from sections Quelusia, Encliandra, Skinnera, and Procumbentes have proven to survive winters in Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, and the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and Canada. In the UK, 60 cultivated varieties have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The British Fuchsia Society and the Northwest Fuchsia Society maintain lists of hardy fuchsias that have survived multiple winters in their respective regions. Fuchsias grow abundantly in the mild temperate climate of West Kerry and West Cork in Ireland and the Isles of Scilly, even colonizing wild areas there.

Did You Know?

• The genus was named after German botanist Leonhart Fuchs, whose surname is pronounced [fʊks].
• One New Zealand species, F. excorticata, grows as a tree up to 12–15 m tall, unlike most shrubby fuchsias.
• The fruit of F. splendens is reportedly among the best-tasting, with a flavor reminiscent of citrus and black pepper.