Hoya pubicalyx Merrill

This Hoya comes from the Philippines and it was described in 1918.

Hoya pubicalyx is definately an easy to grow Hoya. There are a number of different varieties of this Hoya on the market and more names seem to pop up now and then. If these are real names, who knows... What they all have in common is that they have nice foliage and flowers. The leaves are narrow and have more or less silver flecks, depending on which variety it is. 'Pink Silver' has a lot of flecks, while 'Red Button' has less... The size of the leaves vary from 8-18 cm long and 2.5-6 cm wide. Some pubicalyx have new leaves that get red or mixed red/green when young. As these mature they turn green.

The colour of the flowers also vary from pink with white corona to almost black with red coronas. Quite often you'll find pink, spotted and black flowers in the same umbel. The flowers are about 2 cm, produce little nectar, have a strong sweet fragrance and last about two weeks.