Hoya australis R.Brown

This hoya comes from Australia and Oceania, but it has also been found in South East Asia and the Fiji Islands. It was scribed in 1830.

There are many different subspecies of Hoya australis, but the flowers are almost always the same. White corolla with some red under the white corona. The flowers are 1.5-2 cm, cup-shaped and you'll find anywhere between 10 and 40 flowers in each umbel depending on what subspecies you have. Hoya australis flowers last about one week and have a very strong spicy fragrance, which can be nice in small doses but some australis often have several umbels open at the same time and the fragrance can be overpowering.

I was able to find descriptions of several subspecies, but I will only put the ones I have here:

This one is twining, and has both pubescent leaves (less on top than underneath) and stem. The leaves are about 4-9 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide. It's a fast grower, but not very willing to bloom. The flowers are of the smaller ones among the australis species. Sometimes this one is sold as Hoya keysii (F.M. Bailey, 1884), but from what I have read the leaves of keysii are only pubescent on the underside of the leaves...

To view more photos and read about my Hoya australis ssp. australis, click here:

This one is also twining, easy to grow with smooth green/dark green leaves about 6-10 cm long and 4-6 cm wide. It's a fast grower and also a frequent bloomer.

To view more photos and read about my Hoya australis ssp. tenuipes, click here:

Hoya australis 'Kapoho'

This hoya was found in a place called Kapoho in Hawaii. This is another twining, easy to grow hoya with almost round leaves. The leaves are anything from 8-12 cm in diameter, quite dark green and have visible veins. The foliage on this hoya is really beautiful! So far it's a fast grower and one can only hope it's also a fast bloomer at least for others. I had to wait almost five years!

To view more photos and read about my Hoya australis 'Kapoho', click here:

This is a variegated form of Hoya australis with smooth green/white leaves that have a pink tone when young and grown in sunshine. New leaves can get completely red. The leaves are about 6-7 cm long and about 4.5 cm wide. I got to see the flowers for the first time in September 2007 and they looked like the "normal" australis flowers... Smelled the same too! This is a hoya that can be grown just for the foliage. It's gorgeous!

To view more photos and read about my Hoya australis ssp. tenuipes 'Lisa', click here:

Hoya australis ssp. australis (albomarginata)

This hoya has a very nice foliage. The edges of the leaves are white, but quite often more than just the edge is white. Both leaves and stem are pubescent and some leaves are rather thick, about 5-7 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. If this is as "boring" as my all green australis ssp. australis then I have a long wait ahead of me before I get to see the flowers!

To view more photos and read about my Hoya australis ssp. australis (albomarginata), click here:

Hoya australis ssp. australis (variegata)

The leaves on this hoya looks a lot like australis 'Lisa', but the leaves are pubescent. More underneath than on top. You could say that this is a pubescent 'Lisa' because both the variegation and the shape of the leaves are (so far) like 'Lisa'. The leaves are about 3-7 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide.

To view more photos and read about my Hoya australis ssp. australis (variegata), click here:

Hoya australis ssp. rupicola (K.D. Hill) P.I. Forst. & Liddle (1991)

This hoya has pubescent leaves, both on top and on the back and they are very narrow. The leaves are rather thick, about 7-11 cm long and 2.5-4 cm wide. From the photos I have seen the flowers look very much like the rest of Hoya australis.

To view more photos and read about my Hoya australis ssp. rupicola, click here: