Tropical Plant "Vining fuchsia"
Fuchsia regia

Characteristics - The vining fuchsia is a fruit bearer cultivated in the southern part of Brazil, as an ornamental; it is relatively frequent in nature in its natural habitat, the high-altitude regions in the south and southeast, notably, along the edges of forests and ravines. It is a shrub, semi-deciduous, from 1.5-3.0m tall, branches are pendant with lovely, eye-catching blooms. Leaves simple, opposite, chartaceous, glabrescent, short petiolate, 4-6 cm in length, nervation not too apparent. Flowers solitary, axillary, pendulous, androgynous with a purplish-red, tubular calyx surrounding the violet-purple corolla; they form in the spring-summer, with a peduncle of 5-10 cm. The fruits are ellipsoid berries, with a sweet tasting, succulent pulp containing raphides (crystals of calcium oxalate); they mature in summer-autumn.

Uses - The fruits are consumed only in their natural state, but not widely appreciated.

Propagation - By seeds or cuttings.