Fuchsia
Fuchsia magellanica
Fiúise

Many people find it hard to believe that fuchsia (pronounced 'fyoosha') is not a native plant in Ireland. It comes from Chile and Argentina but has long been used here in gardens and as a hedge plant. It is easy to grow from cuttings, tolerates strong winds and will grow well even in quite boggy or peaty soils, making it ideal for western Ireland.

Fuchsia forms a bushy and spreading shrub up to 3 metres (10 feet) tall, but never a tree. Its bark is a light yellowish brown and peeling. Its leaves are opposite, oval and toothed, about 2.5 to 6 cm long, with short stalks. Its distinctive drooping flowers are produced singly along the stems and consist of four bright red sepals arising from the end of a swollen tube and four deep purple petals from which protrude the eight long stamens. In autumn the fruits are black, fleshy, almost spherical berries 1.5 to 2 cm long.

The commonest variety found is var. riccartonii, which originally arose as a garden variety. It has fat spherical buds which pop when squeezed. A rarer variety, magellanica proper, has longer and thinner buds. Fuchsia does not tolerate too much frost and so is rarest in the midlands, east and north.
Deciduous; flowers from July to September.

Information extracted from the Appletree Press title
Appletree Deluxe Editions: Trees and Shrubs
by Peter Wyse-Jackson. Appletree Deluxe Editions: Ireland's Flora & Fauna - Collection, comprising Trees and Shrubs, Birds of Ireland and Wild Flowers.