Flora of North America species comparison

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Fuchsia

fuchsia
Habit Shrubs, [lianas, epiphytes, or trees].
Stems

scandent, [erect, ascending, pendant, or decumbent], branched.
Leaves

cauline, opposite or whorled [alternate];

stipules present, usually deciduous;

petiolate;

blade margins serrulate to crenate-dentate [entire].
Inflorescences

solitary flowers in leaf axils [racemes, panicles, or involucrate when flowers numerous].
Flowers

bisexual and protogynous [or unisexual (and plants gynodioecious, dioecious, or subdioecious)], actinomorphic, buds pendent;

floral tube deciduous (with sepals, petals, and stamens) after anthesis, well developed, cylindrical to obconical, with basal nectary, adnate or mostly free, nectary unlobed or shallowly 4–8-lobed;

sepals 4, reflexed or spreading singly in anthesis;

petals 4, [minute or absent], dark purple [shades of purple, red, or orange, rarely lavender, green, or rose-pink];

stamens 8, in 2 unequal series, [in equal series, or shorter whorl reflexed into floral tube], anthers basifixed, pollen shed singly;

ovary 4-locular, stigma subentire or 4-lobed, clavate [capitate or globose], surface wet and non-papillate.
Fruit

a fleshy berry, oblong [to ellipsoid or subglobose];

pedicellate.
Seeds

few to ca. 500, in 2 to several rows per locule, rarely in 1 row, embedded in pulp.
xI> = 11.

Fuchsia
Distribution
from USDA
Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies (Hispaniola); Pacific Islands (New Zealand, Society Islands) [Introduced in North America; introduced also in w Europe (Ireland), Asia (India), e, s Africa, Pacific Islands (Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand), Australia]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Species 107 (1 in the flora).

Nearly three-fourths of the species of Fuchsia occur in the northern Andes of South America, where the largest section (sect. Fuchsia) is centered. Other species occur in New Zealand (3 spp.), the Society Islands (1 sp.), Mexico, Hispaniola, Central America, and the southern Andes. All species of Fuchsia share the strong morphological synapomorphy of a fleshy berry, a fruit type unique in the family. Most species of Fuchsia characteristically have 2-aperturate pollen [3-aperturate pollen in the polyploid sections Kierschlegeria (Spach) Munz and Quelusia (Vandelli) de Candolle], are usually shrubs or subshrubs, sometimes lianas or trees, and have prolonged floral tubes on flowers that are mostly purple, red, or orange, and generally with petaloid sepals. Within the Circaeeae, P. E. Berry et al. (2004) found strong support for a monophyletic Fuchsia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 10. Authors: Paul E. Berry, Warren L. Wagner.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Circaeeae
Subordinate taxa
F. magellanica
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1191. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 498. (1754)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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