Hoya cinnamomifolia Hooker

This hoya comes from Java, Indonesia and it was described in 1848. There are two varieties of this hoya in circulation; H. cinnamomifolia var. cinnamomifolia which gets green flowers and H. cinnamomifolia var. purpureofusca which gets purple flowers. The last one has previously only been known under the name H. purpureofusca.

This twining hoya is best suited for growing on a large support. The leaves are big, 11-15 cm long and 4-6 cm wide. The colour is dark green and the veins are quite visible. The leaves are smooth and have very little flecks. Typical for this hoya is that it often dropps one of the leaves on each node, so it might take a while before it gets a thick foliage, and var. purpureofusca doesn't loose as many leaves. However, neither of these hoyas seem to grow into beautiful looking plants... At least not in my care!

The flowers have pale green / lime green corolla and the corona is dark pink / almost purple. Each flower is 2 cm (though I think this is when "flat") and you'll find 20-30 flowers in each umbel. The flowers produce some nectar, but not nearly as much as Hoya purpureo-fusca! The flowers last about a week and have no particular fragrance...