About Fuchsia regia (Vand. ex Vell.) Munz
Fuchsia regia (Vand. ex Vell.) Munz is an evergreen shrub that grows 1.5 to 5 meters tall, and can also grow as a liana reaching up to 15 meters high when climbing on trees. It produces slender, wine-purple pendulous branches that grow from the base of the trunk. Its leaves are simple and lanceolate, measuring 20 to 140 mm long by 8 to 70 mm wide, with reddish petioles. The leaf apex is acute or acuminate, and the leaf surface may be hairless or covered in hairs. Leaf margins are either smooth or glandular serrated. Petioles measure 1 to 3 mm by 3 to 35 mm. Stipules are triangular, 0.8 to 3 mm by 0.4 to 3 mm, and sometimes become fused or curved as they age. Flowers grow solitary or in pairs, and are pendulous. The flower tube is red and cylindrical, measuring around 5 to 16 mm long by 3 to 7 mm wide, and is sometimes hairy on the outside. The stamens are red. The ovary is oblong, 5 to 12 mm long by 2 to 4 mm wide. Sepals are 15 to 45 mm long, fused at the base, and colored red or rose. Petals are violet-fuchsia colored and obovate, measuring 10 to 25 mm long by 8 to 16 mm wide. Filaments are red-purple, 25 to 45 mm long by 20 to 38 mm wide. The style is 2 to 6 mm long. The fruit is an oblong berry measuring 10 to 27 mm long by 9 to 13 mm wide, and turns dark purple when ripe. Seeds are tan and oblong, 1.6 to 2.5 mm long by 1 to 1.6 mm wide. This species is endemic to southeast and southern Brazil, found in the states of Bahia, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and the northern part of Rio Grande do Sul. It grows in high altitude jungles of the Atlantic Forest, in regions with temperate temperatures and abundant rainfall. It prefers growing near watercourses, and in areas with full or partial shade.
