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Friday, September 9, 2016

Flower In Focus



I have not revived the Hoya In Focus for sometime. Actually i don't have a time schedule for it, just do it when i feel like so, or when i am inclined to post one again. Usually, i do a species if i have many photos of the plant and flowers, at least with several stages of flower development.

Now i have Hoya benguetensis. This means it came from Benguet, a province in the Cordillera Region in the highlands. Baguio City is maybe the more famous place, and it is from Benguet province. The suffix "ensis" means the species originated from that place.

My first idea is that this plant needs a colder temperature, as it is cold in Benguet being in the highlands. So i placed this plant first under some shades of other plants to at least have a slightly lower temperature. However it didn't flower for two years. It just produced leaves. Above shows the lovely green leaves, with 4 veins attached to the midrib, called quintuplinerve. (I will still verify if my memory is correct)

Then i placed it in the north part of the garden where it received direct sunlight from morning till afternoon. It immediately produced peduncles that eventually turned into lovely red umbels. This plant has 4 umbels that never stopped blooming. After dehiscence, new buds again start to develop. 

The stems are not very much twining, unlike other hoyas. The young shoots just grow in the space nearby without holding on to other stems, resulting in dangling long stems falling to the sides.  From these stems arise the peduncles that bear the buds. 

These are the buds from the topmost photo. Compared to other hoya buds, these are more flattened, with just a very slight protrusion at the tip or center of the bud, which later on becomes the tip of the corolla. 

This shows the slightly opening flowers, which happen at the early afternoon about 2:00pm. I just am not sure if this time is the same in all places. A very prominent distinguishing feature of this species is the dark corona, maroon or fuchsia, with yellow at their centers. 

A very lovely shape of the flowers immediately after all the buds opened. This happens just a few minutes from the start of corolla break. 


A few hours later the flowers reflex to this positions. This was already shot about 6:00pm or 4 hours from start of opening. For most hoyas, the strongest scent was emitted after full opening, together with production of nectar. It signals that they are ready for pollination, attracting the night pollinators like the moths. However, even the ants, spiders, praying mantis, some green fly and other insects are attracted too. In this case, those small black ants partake in the sweet nectar. 

This shows the reflexed corolla of Hoya benguetensis flowers, with the corolla tips even bending backwards.  Am sorry for the blurry photo, but this is what i can find in my files, haven't taken a nicer single flower photo. 


17 comments:

  1. Such an interesting looking flower. Glad the change of place helped it grow new buds.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  2. Dear Kalantikan, thank you for sharing these lovely photos with Today's Flowers. Also it's story is very interesting. Your close ups are fascinating and show much detail. A beautiful flower!

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  4. Now that's a interesting plant ! The Hoya is so unusual and very attractive. Your photography is awesome. Glad I found your blog. Sorry for some reason I'm not awake yet...had to delete and repost.

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  5. Fascinating plant, very unusual but with its own unique beauty.

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  6. Hello!:) Lovely photos of the Hoya plant. I love these pretty, shiny, and waxy looking flowers, and have a potted Hoya in my home. Mine has pale pink flowers, but yours is more eye catching.:)

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    1. Thanks for you kind words, yes lots of hoya addicts are in temperaye countries, even in Nothern Sweden and Canada. Sometimes i even envy the lovely growth of their plants indoors, where they control everything. Unlike us whose plants are always at the mercy of the elements outside.

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  7. Gorgeous! I've learned so much about Hoyas from following your blog. I didn't know much about them before. Amazing plants!

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  8. another addition to my future collection? thanks.

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    1. Oh mapawo, you should be warned. Hoya is addictive, which in turn is contagious! Welcome to the club.

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  9. I never knew that they opened late in the afternoon. They are beautiful.

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    1. Oh, most of them are night bloomers! Some even close in the morning and open again at night.

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  10. Beautiful flowers, as always nature display great masterpiece of beauty. I suppose for most plants, they require sunlight to bloom, good that you change the spot.

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    1. Our Benguet is like your Cameron, so I tried to at least lessen the direct sun impact, tried first to put it in a colder place.

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  11. I love to see these beauties in bloom. Your photos are just wonderful from the whole plant to the macros.

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  12. Stunning colour in these macros, Andrea!
    Than you for your participation in the Floral Friday Foto meme, I look forward to your next contribution.

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