Deppea splendens, commonly known as the golden fuchsia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae endemic to Chiapas, Mexico. It is extinct in the wild. Despite its common name, it is not related to the true Fuchsia genus.
Description Vegetative characteristics Deppea splendens is an evergreen,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/ tall shrub or tree with glabrous twigs. The petiolate, stipulate,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. elliptic to ovate-elliptic leaves with an acuminate apex are 4.5–15 cm long, and 0.8-6 cm wide. The petiole is 0.8–3.8 cm long. Leaves are arranged in whorls of three, or occasionally opposite. Generative characteristics The terminal, pendulous, brightly coloured inflorescencesCandeias, 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 bear 16–25 pendulous, tubular, tetramerous, ornithophilous 5–6 cm long flowers with a red calyx and yellow-orange petals. The tricolporate pollen grains are 21.9–25.7 μm big.Stebler, T. (n.d.). Csapodya splendens. Pollen-Wiki. Retrieved August 22, 2025, from https://pollen.tstebler.ch/MediaWiki/index.php?title=Csapodya_splendens The compressed, ellipsoid, 6–8 mm long, and 5–7 mm wide loculicidal capsule fruit bears dark brown, 0.6–1 mm long seeds.Lorence, D. H., & Dwyer, J. D. (1988). A REVISION OF DEPPEA (RUBIACEAE). Allertonia, 4(7), 389–436. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23188172
Taxonomy It was described by Dennis Eugene Breedlove and David H. Lorence in 1987.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 Within the subfamily Dialypetalanthoideae it is placed in the tribe Hamelieae.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.
Etymology The specific epithet splendens means shining or brilliant.Haynes, J. (n.d.). Etymological Compendium of Cycad Names. The Cycad Society.
Distribution and habitat It was once native to high elevation cloud forest in the state Chiapas, Mexico, but has been presumed 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.
History 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 sent 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, and the Huntington Musial, K. (2024, May 10). Pacific Plant Promotions: Deppea splendens. Pacific Horticulture. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://pacifichorticulture.org/articles/ideppea-splendensi/. All plants in existence are from that introduction. It is now 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.
Conservation The only known population was destroyed for farmland. It only persists in ex-situ collections in botanic gardens and private collections.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
Ecology The flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds.Fischer, B. (2013, November). Pflanze des Monats November: Falsche Fuchsie (Csapodya splendens). Bern; Botanischer Garten der Universität Bern. It was found in mixed cloud forest with deciduous and evergreen vegetation, and was abundant along a stream. 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
Cultivation It can be easily cultivated in well-drained, nutrient rich substrate under bright and warm conditions, but does not tolerate consistently hot and humid climates. Deppea splendens is self-incompatible,Bucher, R. (2014, June 23). Deppea splendens. Pflanzen-Portraits. Retrieved August 21, 2025, from http://www.pflanzen-portraits.de/?q=node/1Schirarend, C. (n.d.). Goldene Fuchsie Deppea splendens. Hamburg; Gesellschaft der Freunde des Botanischen Gartens Hamburg. but it can also be propagated vegetatively. At least three clones have been named: ‘Augustin’, ‘Bartolome’, and ‘Cristobal’ 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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