California fuchsia is a slender-stemmed and much-branched herbacious perennial with toothed, green, lanceolate to ovate leaves that have a densely spreading-hairy and glandular pubescence.  The lower leaves are generally opposite, the upper mostly alternate.  The flowers are scarlet on short axillary stems, tubular-funnelform in shape with a basal bulge, with four two-cleft petals.  There are eight stamens and one pistil, exserted.  The species was formerly named Zauschneria californica.  The blooming period is from August to September.  California fuchsia grows at elevations of up to 10,000' in dry areas, rocky slopes and cliffs, and montane coniferous forest from San Diego Co. to Oregon.  Highly variable.  A closely related taxa is Epilobium canum ssp. canum, hoary fuchsia, whose flowers are almost identical but whose herbage is quite different.  These pictures were taken in the San Gabriel Mts.

Click here for Latin name derivations: 1) Epilobium 2) canum 3) latifolium.
Pronunciation: ep-il-OH-bee-um KAY-num la-ti-FO-lee-um.
Click here for Botanical Term Meanings.