Fuchsia, a birthday flower of May 17th

Fuchsia is one of the birthday flowers of May 17th in Japan. They are in bloom in some parts of Japan at the moment. They typically bloom in late spring, early summer, from around April to July, or in Autumn, from September to November in Japan. However, I actually took the photo in this post in early August!

In both the Japanese language of flowers, hanakotoba, and the language of flowers in the West, Fuchsia represent meanings such as "humble love" and "confiding love". Fuchsia are native to Central and South America. They were named after the German botanist Leonhart Fuchs. 

Apart from May 17th, Fuchsia are also one of the birthday flowers of January 25th, May 22nd and July 11th.