Fuchsia arborescens Sims, Onagraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Threat only at high elevations?  yes

Common name(s): [more details]

Spanish: aretillo

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "A shrub or tree 1.5-8 meters high, glabrous throughout or nearly so, the trunk short and thick, the crown dense and rounded; leaves opposite or ternate, slender-petiolate, oblanceolate or oblanceolate-oblong, 7-20 cm long, acute or acuminate, attenuate to the base, entire or serrulate, paler beneath; flowers rose-red or red-purple, about 12 mm long, forming large and usually dense, terminal panicles; lobes of the calyx about equaling the tube, linear-oblong, obtuse, reflexed in flower; flower buds rounded or very obtuse at the apex; petals shorter than the sepals; stamens usually conspicuously exserted; fruit subglobose, as much as 1 cm in diameter when fresh, dark purple or purple-black, with a bloom" (Standley & Williams, 1963; pp. 528-529).

Habitat/ecology:  "Moist or wet, mixed forest or more often at the edge of the first or in open meadows, often in thickets, 1,300-2,900 m" [Guatemala] (Standley & Williams, 1963; pp. 528-529).

Propagation:  Not known

Native range:  Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama (Standley & Williams, 1963; pp. 528-529).

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  Reported invasive in Tanzania (Rejmánek, 1996).

Additional information:  Additional online information about Fuchsia arborescens is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Fuchsia arborescens may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Rejmánek, M. 1996. Species richness and resistance to invasions. In: Orians, G., R. Dirzo and J. H. Cushman (eds.). Biodiversity and ecosystem processes in tropical forests. Springer-Verlag. pp. 153-172.

Standley, Paul C./Steyermark, Julian A. 1963. Flora of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part VII. Chicago Natural History Museum. 171 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.