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Fuchsia
The genus Fuchsia was named after one of the founding fathers of botany, the
German doctor Leonhart Fuchs, who lived in the 16th century.
The center of diversity of the genus Fuchsia is located in the mountainous regions
ranging from Central America to Patagonia, though isolated populations are also found in
New Zealand and Tahiti. Fuchsias are well-known to home gardeners, especially hybrid
fuchsias made by crossing one or more species.
The preferred habitat of most species of fuchsia are mountain rain forests with lots of precipitation. Their brightly-colored flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. To protect the nectar from being thinned out by rain, the flowers hang downward. For hummingbirds, acrobats of the air, it’s no problem to reach the blossoms. They simply hover beneath the flower and insert their beaks to suck out the nectar.
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