Deppea splendens

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Golden fuchsia
Csapodya splendens BOGA Bern 3.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Deppea
Species:
D. splendens
Binomial name
Deppea splendens
Chiapas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg
Deppea splendens was endemic to Chiapas, Mexico [3]
Synonyms [4]
  • Csapodya challengeriBorhidi & Reyes-García
  • Csapodya splendens(Breedlove & Lorence) Borhidi
  • Csapodya sousaeBorhidi & Reyes-García

Deppea splendens, also known as the golden fuchsia, [5] [6] is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae endemic to Chiapas, Mexico. [3] It is extinct in the wild. [1] [3] Despite its common name, it is not closely related to true Fuchsia . [7]

Contents

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Deppea splendens is an evergreen, [8] 5–8 m (16–26 ft) tall shrub or tree with glabrous twigs. [9] The petiolate, [2] stipulate, [10] elliptic to ovate-elliptic leaves with an acuminate apex are 4.5–15 cm long, and 0.8-6 cm wide. [2] The petiole is 0.8–3.8 cm long. [10]

Generative characteristics

The terminal, [9] pendulous, brightly coloured inflorescences [11] bear 16–25 [9] pendulous, tubular, [6] tetramerous, [7] ornithophilous [9] 5– [12] [7] 6 cm long flowers [13] with a red calyx and yellow-orange petals. [6] The tricolporate pollen grains are 21.9–25.7 μm big. [14] The compressed, ellipsoid, 6–8 mm long, and 5–7 mm wide loculicidal capsule fruit bears dark brown, 0.6–1 mm long seeds. [15]

Taxonomy

It was described by Dennis Eugene Breedlove and David H. Lorence in 1987. [2] Dennis Breedlove was a botanist at the California Academy of Science researching plants and ethnobotany in Chiapas when he discovered it in 1972 in the Motozintla de Mendoza municipality; he brought seeds of the then undescribed shrub to San Francisco in 1981 (he described it formally in 1987). That seed was grown at the University of California Botanical Garden. All plants in existence are from that introduction. It is now grown widely grown, including in the San Francisco Conservatory of flowers, The San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, and at the Huntington in Southern California. [16] Within the subfamily Dialypetalanthoideae it is placed in the tribe Hamelieae. [17]

Etymology

The specific epithet splendens means shining or brilliant. [18]

Distribution and habitat

It was once native to high elevation cloud forest in the state Chiapas, Mexico, but has been prusumed extinct in the wild since its habitat was cleared for farmland. It is now found only in horticulture, although efforts have been made to reintroduce it in Mexico. [16] [1]

Conservation

The only known population was destroyed for farmland. [19] [20] It only persists in ex-situ collections [20] in botanic gardens and private collections. [21] Deppea splendens is self-incompatible, [13] [12] but several clones are known to exist. [22] It can also be propagated vegetatively. [13]

Ecology

The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds. [9] [19] [7]

Cultivation

It can be easily cultivated [21] in well-drained, nutrient rich substrate under bright and warm conditions, [19] but does not tolerate consistently hot and humid climates. [21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fuentes, A.C.D.; Martínez Salas, E.; Samain, M.-S. (2020). "Deppea splendens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T126612397A126613386. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T126612397A126613386.en .
  2. 1 2 3 4 Breedlove, Dennis E., & Lorence, David H. (1987). New species of Deppea (Rubiaceae) from Chiapas, Mexico. Phytologia, 63, 43--47. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/96753
  3. 1 2 3 "Deppea splendens Breedlove & Lorence". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Deppea splendens Breedlove & Lorence. (n.d.). Catalogue of Life. Retrieved August 24, 2025, from https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/6CLSJ
  5. ↑ Holmes, B. "Deppea splendens Breedlove & Lorence (1987:43) | Golden fuschia". The Recently Extinct Plants and Animals Database. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 "Golden Fuchsia (Deppea splendens)". Gardens by the Bay. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Fischer, B. (2013, November). Pflanze des Monats November: Falsche Fuchsie (Csapodya splendens). Bern; Botanischer Garten der Universität Bern.
  8. ↑ Jenkins, R. (n.d.). Curator’s Corner – Deppea splendens. Gardens of Golden Gate Park. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from https://gggp.org/curators-corner-deppea-splendens/
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Borhidi, A.; Darók, J.; Kocsis, M.; Stranczinger, Sz.; Kaposvári, F. (2004). "Critical revision of the Deppea complex (Rubiaceae, Hamelieae)". Acta Botanica Hungarica. 46 (1–2): 77–89. doi:10.1556/ABot.46.2004.1-2.7.
  10. 1 2 Borhidi, A., & Reyes-García, A. (2007). Estudios sobre rubiáceas mexicanas XI Revisión del género Csapodya Borhidi (Rondeletieae), endémica de Chiapas con tres especies. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 49(1-2), 000-000.
  11. ↑ Candeias, M. (2018, December 11). The Golden Fuchsia: A Case Study in Why Living Collections Matter. In Defense of Plants. Retrieved August 14, 2025, from https://www.indefenseofplants.com/blog/tag/Deppea+splendens
  12. 1 2 Schirarend, C. (n.d.). Goldene Fuchsie Deppea splendens. Hamburg; Gesellschaft der Freunde des Botanischen Gartens Hamburg.
  13. 1 2 3 Bucher, R. (2014, June 23). Deppea splendens. Pflanzen-Portraits. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from http://www.pflanzen-portraits.de/?q=node/1
  14. ↑ Stebler, T. (n.d.). Csapodya splendens. Pollen-Wiki. Retrieved August 22, 2025, from https://pollen.tstebler.ch/MediaWiki/index.php?title=Csapodya_splendens
  15. ↑ Lorence, D. H., & Dwyer, J. D. (1988). A REVISION OF DEPPEA (RUBIACEAE). Allertonia, 4(7), 389–436. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23188172
  16. 1 2 Reynolds, Charles (2018). "Grow plants that are extinct in the wild". The Ledger.
  17. ↑ USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=452681. Accessed 21 August 2025.
  18. ↑ Haynes, J. (n.d.). Etymological Compendium of Cycad Names. The Cycad Society.
  19. 1 2 3 Bourell, M. "Deppea splendens". San Francisco Botanical Garden. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  20. 1 2 "Deppea splendens". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  21. 1 2 3 Margelony, R. T. (n.d.). Tales of the Faux Fuchsias. The Fuchsietum. Retrieved August 22, 2025, from https://fuchsietum.com/about-fuchsias/faux-fuchsias/faux-fuchsias.html
  22. ↑ Musial, K. (2024, May 10). Pacific Plant Promotions: Deppea splendens. Pacific Horticulture. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://pacifichorticulture.org/articles/ideppea-splendensi/
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