FUCHSIA 



FUCHSIA 



615 



Var. gracilis (F. gracilis, Liindl. F.decussata, Grab.). 

 Very slender and graceful, the fls. drooping on very 

 long pedicels: tube slender, nearly as long as the nar- 

 row, spreading lobes: Ivs. narrow, strong- toothed. Chile. 

 B. R. 10:847; 13:1052. B.M. 2507. Gn.55, p. 74. Mn. 

 2, p. 186. Possibly a distinct species. 



With F. Magellanica may be classed F. corallina, 

 Hort., F. Exoniensis, Hort.(G.C. II. 20:565), F. flegans, 

 Paxt., F. JRiccartdni, Hort., F. tenella, Hort., and others. 

 Some of these are probably hybrids with F. Magel- 

 lanica. 



The short-flowered Fuchsias are less popular than 

 formerly, but many varieties are now in cult. Of this 

 set the Storm King is a representative. 



2. specidsa, Hort. (F. hybrida, Hort.). Figs. 875, 876. 

 The greater part of present-day garden Fuchsias are of 

 the long-tubed type shown in the illustrations. These 

 are probably hybrid derivatives of F. Magellanica and 

 F. fulyens. Amongst the named sorts every gradation 

 will be found, from the short-tubed Storm King to the 

 Earl of Beaconsfield with fls. 3 in. long. 



3. coccinea, Ait. Not known to be cult, in America, 

 and inserted here for the purpose of clearing up the 

 synonymy of F. coccinea. This species appears to have 

 been introduced before F, Magellanica, and it was 

 named F. coccinea by Aiton. F. Magellanica, however, 



876. Theresa, a form of Fuchsia speciosa (X %). 



"usurped its name and spread it to every garden in the 

 kingdom, whilst the true plant lingered in botanic gar- 

 dens, lastly surviving (greatly to the credit of the Bax- 

 ters, father and son) in that of Oxford alone." The 

 species was lost from its introduction in 1788 to its 

 discovery in an Oxford garden in 1867; meantime 

 forms of F. Magellanica passed as F. coccinea. "F. 



877. Fuchsia triphylla (X %). 



coccinea is much more graceful than any of the varieties 

 of F. Magellanica, flowers even more freely, and is 

 readily distinguished by the almost sessile leaves with 

 broad bases, and the hairy twigs and petioles; further, 

 its foliage turns of a bright crimson when about to fall." 

 - J. D. Hooker, B.M. 5740. Probably Brazilian. 



BE. Calyx-tube thrice or more the length of the lobes: 

 petals pointed, nearly or quite as long as the 

 calyx lobes. 



4. fulgens, Moc. & Sesse. Stem somewhat succulent, 

 glabrous, often red-tinged: Ivs. large and coarse, cor- 

 date ovate, soft, small-toothed : fls. in terminal, leafy 

 clusters or racemes ; the red long-tubular calyx-tube 2-3 

 in. long and very slen- 

 der at the base; the 



calyx lobes short and 

 pointed, greenish at 

 the tip, not very wide- 

 ly spreading; petals 

 deep scarlet, pointed ; 

 stamens only short 

 exserted. Mex. B.M. 

 3801. B.R. 24:1. Gn. 

 55,p.75.R.H. 1881:150 

 (var. pumila). A 

 brilliant plant, some- 

 times seen in choice 

 conservatory collec- 

 tions. Evidently a 

 parent of the F. spe- 

 ciosa tribes. 



5. triphylla, Linn. 

 Fig. 877. Low and 

 bushy (18 in. high), 

 pubescent: Ivs. of ten 

 in 3's, small, oblan- 

 ceolate, petiolate, 



dentate, green above and purple pubescent beneath: 

 fls. 1% in. long, in terminal racemes, cinnabar-red, 

 the long tube enlarging towards the top; petals very 

 short; stamens 4, not exserted. St. Domingo, West 

 Indies. B.M. 6795. Gn. 41:839. I. H. 43, p. 94. -Known in 

 botanical collections and sparingly in the trade. The 

 species has a most interesting history, for which see 

 the citations made above. Upon this plant Plumier 

 founded the genus Fuchsia in 1703, giving a rude draw- 

 ing of it. Upon Plumier's description and picture 

 Linna3iis founded his F. triphylla. Plumier's figure is 

 so unlike existing Fuchsias that there has been much 

 speculation as to the plant which he meant to portray. 

 No Fuchsia was known to have four stamens or to be 

 native to the West Indies. In 1877 Hemsley wrote of it: 

 "The figure, however, is so rude that nobody,! believe, 

 has been able to identify it with any living or dried 

 plant. Possibly it is not a" Fuchsia at all in the sense of 

 the present application of the name, for it is represented 

 as having only four stamens." But in 1873 Thomas 

 Hogg, of New York, secured seeds of a St. Domingo- 

 Fuchsia which turns out to be Plumier's original, thus 

 bringing into cultivation a plant which had been un- 

 known to science for 170 years. It came to the attention 

 of botanists in 1882. For a discussion of further con- 

 fusion in the history of this plant, see Hemsley, G.C. II. 

 18, p. 263-4. 



6. corymbiflora, Ruiz & Pav. Tall but weak grower, 

 needing support when allowed to attain its full height,, 

 therefore excellent for pillars and rafters : Ivs. large, 

 ovate-oblong and tapering both ways, serrate, pubescent: 

 fls. deep red, hanging in long brilliant corymbs; calyx 

 tube 3-4 in. long and nearly uniformly cylindrical, the 

 lobes lance-acuminate and becoming reflexed ; petals 

 deep red, lance-acuminate, about the length of the 

 calyx lobes; stamens length of the petals. Peru. B.M. 

 4000. Gn. 11:58; 55:1203. F.J. 1841:161. Var. alba, 

 Hort., has white or nearly white calyx-tube and lobes. 

 F.S. 6:547. Gn. 55:1208 A very handsome plant, but 

 not common. 



AA. Flowers erect. 



7. arborescens, Sims (F. syringcefblia, Carr.). A 

 shrub : Ivs. lance-oblong and entire, laurel-like : fls. 

 pink-red, small, with a short or almost globular tube f 



