Towards the end of the seventeenth century a missionary named Plumier, collecting in the West Indian island of St. Domingo, came across this plant and gave to it the name it now bears. It is a remarkable fact that although it is the species on which the genus is founded, and although one hundred and ninety years have passed since its discovery, it is only two or three years ago that it appeared under cultivation, and it is only this year that its beauty has come to be fully appreciated. In many respects it is one of the finest of fuchsias, the rich and brilliant color of its orange-red flowers being unequalled in that genus. The dark purplish-red tinge on the leaves, especially underneath, also distinguishes it among its fellows. Until quite lately it appeared doubtful if this plant would ever succeed in obtaining a wide footing in gardens, on account of the difficulty experienced in its cultivation.

Under treatment similar to that which produces such a wealth of foliage and flower in the common fuchsias, it does not thrive satisfactorily. It has been found, however, that by allowing it a warmer temperature - one intermediate between that of the greenhouse and stove - it succeeds perfectly. At the Birmingham Botanic Garden there are now plants two feet through - examples of the most robust health - with every one of the numerous branches terminated by a beautiful raceme of the pendent blooms.