Eat it and yes, I'm serious, it is edible. Most fuchsia fruits contain no seeds at all, and those that may be present are variable, you never know what you're going to get if you manage to get them to grow.

Although the taste of the fruit can be variable too. We add some to salads, and three or four years ago when the taste was really rather good I made a Fuchsia jam.

Hi Bamboo, yes I knew they were edible, they look good but I still cant fancy them lol! So if there is hardly any seed how do fuchsia cope in the wild? I presume all our cultivars are done by vegetative propagation?

Yup, that's right Tetrarch.

Thanks Bloomer. The fruit can go on the compost heap then!

Wow I didn't know you could eat them! And to think I've been wasting good food all this time!

Best made into jam really, Steragram - think they're a bit bland, or so they say.

I tried one today. I don't think it was ripe as the flower had only just dropped off, but it was quite strongly flavoured. It didn't tempt me to eat a lot though. Perhaps they get blander as they ripen.