Hoya alwitriana is one of the newly documented hoyas endemic in the Philippines with the complete name and authors as Hoya alwitriana Kloppenb., Siar, Guevarra & Carandang 2012. It is an accepted species listed at The International Plant Names Index.
I have acquired it a few years ago, but unlike my other hoyas it gave me a slumped growth, unwilling to respond to my normal care and yet did not die. After two years, it finally produced the long stem where the peduncles emerge. It was not just a peduncle as i expect from a newly flowering hoya plant, it gave 3 consecutive peduncles. Aside from that stem, there is a peduncle emerging from the base, just immediately almost at the soil level. It was fantastic, and those peduncles didn't stop producing flowers. The old flowers drop, and the next buds come soonest. I am so stunned.
Here is the umbel arising from the base of the plant, just above the media surface.
Unopened buds have conspicuous brown dots or a semblance to sprinkling of dust particles.
The pedicels are conspicuously lovely in dark pink to maroon.
Newly Opened Flowers
opening flowers
newly opened flowers
5 hrs after opening showing the slightly reflexed corollas
Honeybee Magnet
Not even one bee went to any of the already opened flowers. I watched the Hoya vitellina while opening, yet the bees seem to dislike it.
The plant
Its leaves are unusually bigger than the umbels, and can be described as oval in shape. There is a little curling down of the leaf margins. (Leaf characteristics can be technically read from the taxonomic publication)
Lovely! The yellow colour is very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gunilla for coming by.
DeleteThat was really worth the long wait for flowers, these waxy flowers with there pretty soft yellow color are beautiful and is n't it spectacular so many honeybees together on the plant, almost every little flower has a honeybee. Great photos!
ReplyDeleteYou are right Judy, and i am so happy with the hoya visitors, as well as the observations i gather from my hoyas. Thanks again.
DeleteThese are such beautiful flowers & the bee shots are really great
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Tony for your kind words and visit.
DeleteSuch waxy flowers! Beautiful - and the bees really seem to like them.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, and the bees are a bit selective, i discussed it in the post. Thanks.
DeleteWhat beautiful flowers. I love the bees, we don't see very many of them where I live.
ReplyDeleteYes i can understand that Al, of course more biodiversity both in plants and animals are in the tropics. Thanks for dropping by again.
DeleteBeautiful golden flowes! I have the white-and-pink Hoya carnosa.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by again, lotusleaf. I have both your carnosa plus a red and a variegated.
DeleteWhat a beautiful hoya like stars or fireworks exploding....
ReplyDeleteYes Donna, they are not called shooting stars for nothing. And maybe fireworks hoya will also be a fitting name.
DeleteVery pretty flower.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting here Rajesh.
DeleteWhat an interesting flower.
ReplyDeleteMollyxxx
It looks so good closed and then voilà , astounding when it's open. Those bees must know something, probably the color, but maybe this species is extra delicious. I was a little stunned when I saw this too, aren't you glad you waited.
ReplyDeleteYour Hoya sure don't look like the small house plants we have here!
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen this flower but it's quite beautiufl
ReplyDeleteThis is not only beautiful, it is also essential to the planet if it attracts honey bees. There is a great shortage of honeybees here in North America, because so many crops are sprayed and the bees, the plant's pollinators, die.
ReplyDeleteThat is true Kay, hopefully we dont imitate that path, but no matter how strict we try preserving our natural world, overpopulation takes over!
DeleteHello Andrea... I love the flowers of this plant and it is always great to see happy bees.....Michelle
ReplyDeleteBeautiful....both flowers and leaves.....and bees!
ReplyDeleteWonderful colour!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking part in the Floral Friday Fotos meme. I hope to see more of your work soon.