Fuchsia

Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants, primarily shrubs or small trees. Of the nearly 110 recognized species, the vast majority are native to South America, with a smaller number found north through Central America to Mexico, and several more from New Zealand to Tahiti. One species, F. magellanica, reaches the cool temperate zone at the southern tip of South America on Tierra del Fuego, but most species are tropical or subtropical.

Taxonomy

The first species to be scientifically described, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola around 1696–1697 by 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. Fuchsias are most closely related to the northern hemisphere genus Circaea, the two lineages having diverged about 41 million years ago. The presence of Fuchsia in both the Neotropics and the islands of New Zealand and Tahiti likely results from several dispersal events across the Antarctic land bridge during the Late Eocene.

Description

Fuchsias thrive in climates with cool temperatures year-round and no frost; elsewhere, they prefer partial shade and warm morning temperatures. They require plenty of water. Most fuchsias are shrubs 0.2 to 4 m tall, but one New Zealand species, the kōtukutuku (F. excorticata), is unusual in being a tree, reaching 12–15 m.

Leaves are opposite or in whorls of three to five, simple and lanceolate, usually with serrated margins (entire in some species), 1–25 cm long, and can be deciduous or evergreen depending on the species. The decorative, pendulous teardrop-shaped flowers appear profusely from late spring through summer and early autumn for about 12 weeks, or year-round in tropical species. They have four long, slender sepals and four shorter, broader petals; in many species, sepals are bright red and petals purple (colors that attract hummingbird pollinators), but colors range from white to dark red, purple-blue, orange, or salmon, with a few having yellowish tones. The ovary is inferior. The fruit is a small (5–25 mm) dark reddish green, deep red, or deep purple berry containing many tiny seeds.

The berry of F. splendens is reportedly among the best-tasting, with a flavor reminiscent of citrus and black pepper, and can be made into jam. F. excorticata fruit has a pleasant sweet taste with slight astringency, while fruit of some other fuchsias is flavorless or leaves a bad aftertaste. In most species, flowers are bird-pollinated and seeds dispersed by birds.

Species

The majority of Fuchsia species are native to Central and South America, with a small number on Hispaniola (two species), New Zealand (three species), and Tahiti (one species). Philip A. Munz’s A Revision of the Genus Fuchsia classified the genus into seven sections of 100 species. More recent work by botanists Dennis E. Breedlove and Paul E. Berry recognizes 108 species and 122 taxa, organized into 12 sections. In New Zealand and Tahiti, section Skinnera now consists of only three species, as F. × colensoi was determined to be a naturally occurring hybrid between F. excorticata and F. perscandens.

F. procumbens has been placed into its own section, Procumbentes. Two other new sections are Pachyrrhiza and Verrucosa, each with one species. The Plant List, a cooperative effort by leading botanical institutions, lists most currently accepted Fuchsia species and synonyms. The vast majority of garden hybrids have descended from a few parent species.

Section Fuchsia

Section Ellobium (Mexico and Costa Rica) contains three species: F. decidua, F. fulgens, and F. splendens. Section Encliandra (Mexico to Panama) has six species with flat petals, short stamens reflexed into the tube, and fruits with few seeds. Section Fuchsia (syn. Eufuchsia), from northern Argentina to Colombia and Venezuela, and Hispaniola, is the largest section with 64 species; its flowers are perfect with convolute petals, erect stamens (some exserted), and fruits with many seeds. Section Hemsleyella (Venezuela to Bolivia) has fifteen species characterized by a nectary fused with the base of the flower tube and petals partly or completely lacking.

Section Jimenezia (Panama and Costa Rica) contains F. jimenezii. Section Kierschlegeria (coastal central Chile) has a single species, F. lycioides, with pendulous axillary pedicels, sparse leaves, and reflexed sepals slightly shorter than the tube. Section Pachyrrhiza (Peru) contains F. pachyrrhiza.

Section Procumbentes (New Zealand) contains F. procumbens. Section Quelusia (southern Argentina and Chile, and southeastern Brazil) has nine species with a nectary fused to the base of the tube or hypanthium; the hypanthium is cylindrical and generally no longer than the sepals, and stamens are long and exserted. Section Schufia (Mexico to Panama) has two species with erect, corymb-like panicles: F. arborescens and F. paniculata (with subspecies mixensis and paniculata); the name Schufia is a taxonomic anagram of Fuchsia. Section Skinnera is found in New Zealand and Tahiti.