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Last active October 1, 2025 23:46
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How do you spell "Fuchsia"?

How do you (remember how to) spell Fuchsia?

tl;dr: Its etymology goes back to a German botanist named Leonhart Fuchs, plus an -ia suffix.

Fuchsia (OS) is named after a color which is named after a (genus of) plant. Like many plants and flowers, the plant's scientific name was given by some European guy after some other European guy, with an -ia suffix to make it a plant name. (Presumably in many cases because they couldn't fathom that indigenous people already had names for things, and so didn't bother to find out; there are plenty of plant names that are derived from indigenous names.)

Plant Named after Named by Native to
Fuchsia Leonhart Fuchs Charles Plumier Americas, Oceania
Begonia Michel Bégon Charles Plumier Asia, Americas
Plumeria Charles Plumier Carl Linnaeus Americas
Camellia Georg Joseph Kamel Carl Linnaeus Asia
Zinnia Johann Gottfried Zinn Carl Linnaeus Americas
Gardenia Alexander Garden Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis Africa, Asia, Oceania
Linnaea Carl Linnaeus Europe, Asia, Americas
Macadamia John Macadam Ferdinand von Mueller Australia
Dahlia Anders Dahl Americas
Magnolia Pierre Magnol Americas
Forsythia William Forsyth mostly Asia
Wisteria Caspar Wistar? Asia, North America
Freesia Friedrich Freese Africa
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