One species, F. magellanica, extends as far as the southern tip of South America, occurring on Tierra del Fuego in the cool temperate zone, but the majority are tropical or subtropical.

The first to be scientifically described, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) about 1696–1697 by the French Minim friar and botanist, Charles Plumier,[3] during his third expedition to the Greater Antilles.

[3][4] The fuchsias are most closely related to the northern hemisphere genus Circaea, the two lineages having diverged around 41 million years ago.

The flowers are very decorative; they have a pendulous teardrop shape and are displayed in profusion throughout the summer and autumn, and all year in tropical species.

In New Zealand and Tahiti, section Skinnera now consists of only three species as F. × colensoi has been determined to be a naturally occurring hybrid between F. excorticata and F. perscandens.

The fifteen species in this section are characterised by a nectary that is fused with the base of the flower tube and petals that are partly or completely lacking.

Fuchsias are popular garden shrubs, and once planted can live for years with a minimal amount of care.

[19] Fuchsias from sections Quelusia (F. magellanica, F. regia), Encliandra, Skinnera (F. excorticata, F. perscandens) and Procumbentes (F. procumbens) have especially proven to be hardy in widespread areas of Britain and Ireland, as well as in many other countries such as New Zealand (aside from its native species) or the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

Even in somewhat colder regions, a number of the hardier species will often survive as herbaceous perennials, dying back and reshooting from below ground in the spring.

While F. magellanica is not widespread in Scotland it has been known to grow wild in sheltered areas, such as the banks of local streams in Fife.

In the UK, 60 cultivated varieties of fuchsia have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, including:-[22] Fuchsias are eaten by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, such as the elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) and the black-lyre leafroller moth ("Cnephasia" jactatana).

Other major insect pests include aphids, mirid bugs such as Lygocoris, Lygus and Plesiocoris spp., vine weevils (Otiorhynchus spp.

A physician and professor, he occupied the chair of Medicine at the University of Tübingen from his appointment at the age of 34 until his death in 1566.

In the course of his career Fuchs wrote the seminal De Historia Stirpium Commentarii Insignes, which was richly illustrated and published in 1542.

[citation needed] It was in honour of Fuchs' and his work that the fuchsia received its name shortly before 1703 by Charles Plumier.

Plumier compiled his Nova Plantarum Americanum, which was published in Paris in 1703, based on the results of his third plant-finding trip to the Caribbean in search of new genera.

In it he described Fuchsia triphylla flore coccinea.... Plumier's novel species was accepted by Linnaeus in 1753 but the long descriptive name was shortened in accordance with his binomial system.

Fuchsia magellanica, however, proved very hardy outdoors and its cultivars soon naturalized in favorable areas of the British Isles.

Captain Firth, a sailor, brought the plant back to England from one of his trips to his home in Hammersmith where he gave it to his wife.

Later James Lee of St. Johns Wood, nurseryman and an astute businessman, heard of the plant and purchased it for £80.

Other than a citation at Kew itself that Fuchsia coccinea was indeed given to it by a Captain Firth, there is no firm evidence to support any of these introduction stories.

The following fuchsias were recorded in England at Kew: F. lycioides, 1796; F. arborescens, 1824; F. microphylla, 1827; F. fulgens, 1830; F. corymbiflora, 1840; and F. apetala, F. decussata, F. dependens and F. serratifolia in 1843 and 1844, the last four species attributable to Messrs. Veitch of Exeter.

In 1848 Felix Porcher published the second edition of his book Le Fuchsia son Histoire et sa Culture.

In 1871 in later editions of M. Porchers book reference is made to James Lye who was to become famous as a breeder of fuchsias in England.

Between 1900 and 1914 many of the famous cultivated varieties were produced which were grown extensively for Covent Garden market by many growers just outside London.

Almost immediately after the Society had been established in 1929, a thorough census and collection of fuchsias already growing in California gardens and nurseries had been undertaken under the scientific leadership and direction of Alice Eastwood.