Fuchsia, genus of tropical and subtropical plants (see Evening Primrose), named after the 16th-century German botanist Leonhard Fuchs. Except for a few Australasian species, fuchsias are found in forests and shady mountain habitats in Central and South America. A few are climbing plants, and others are small trees, but most wild fuchsias are shrubs. Fuchsias cultivated in the United States are grown in greenhouses and as houseplants in colder regions of the country; in the summer, and in milder regions, they may be grown in windowboxes or as bedding plants. The graceful pendulous flowers, often called lady's eardrops because of their shape, may be solitary or arranged in clusters in leaf axils. Each flower has a colored, funnel-shaped, four-part calyx and a corolla composed of four petals. In many fuchsias, the color of the calyx contrasts sharply with the color of the corolla. Fuchsia fruits are small berries, which, in several species, are edible.

Most cultivated fuchsias are hybrids of wild species or varieties. One of the most attractive cultivated varieties has crimson sepals and purple, rose, or white petals.

Scientific classification: Fuchsias make up the genus Fuchsia, of the family Onagraceae. The cultivated variety with crimson sepals and purple, rose, or white petals is classified as Fuchsia hybrida.