In Focus: Hoya lucardenasiana

Hoya lucardenasiana has some extra personal significance for me. It is named after my batchmate in college, Lourdes B. Cardenas. We were not really very close then, but you know how it was as college freshmen. I still remember we were P.E. classmates, and once we went to the big city to look for a swimsuit. The bus took us there in more than 2 hrs. We almost got lost, we searched the old Quiapo area and because we cannot see a store selling swimsuits we accidentally found ourselves in Chinatown. A bit scared because most stores speak Chinese, it felt like we were already in China. We tried our best to retrace our way back to where we started. To make the long story short, we were not able to buy our swimsuits.

I forgot what happened next, the scenes in my mind are now lost to oblivion. Sometimes i still see Lou in some project reviews where her study is funded by our office. She doesn't remember it, but i do. And as the past Director of the Natural History Museum in the University of the Philippines Los Baños for a few yearst, this hoya is named after her. Even if we were not very close in college, her namesake at least is very close to me.

newly opened flowers  

A few hours after opening, the corolla already reflexed and nectar 

already oozing from the individual flowers. In temperate countries where 

evaporation is not quick, the nectar form round bubbles on each nectar gland

 It flowers from February to April at the beginning of the dry hot season. 

There are many umbels in a plant at different stages of maturity, 

so you will get blooms in staggered dates. 

 Maybe there are two color forms of this hoya, as i've seen posts where the corolla is darker burgundy, and the corolla even darker. Or probably conditions also affect colors, as is true with other hoya species. Anthocyanins are affected by temperatures, pH and more changes in conditions. 

 This flowers will dehisce in one more day, they fall in 4-5 days. 

Floral Friday Fotos

Flower Friday

Through My Lens

Would you like my Rubies?

I have not been joining the Ruby Tuesday meme lately, as i always find it late. I only use the meme list at meme-aholics by Gemma Weisman, and the list always elude me. Most hosts open the link the day before the actual day, i am not blaming them, just saying a fact. Ruby Tuesday is listed on Tuesday, but it opens on Monday. Whenever i open it on Tuesday there are already lots of linkers, and maybe nobody will open my post anymore.

That happens also with other memes, that i join normally. I am sorry about that folks, as maybe my memory is not functioning that efficiently anymore! I tend to forget those in the short term memory now, and when there are urgent work in the office i sacrifice blogging. That is not my choice, of course, just the necessity. But i will still try to join and i hope you will still find my post. hehehe

 I hope you will consider this as ruby. I am sure you will notice the individual flower's semblance to a tiffany ring or an earing. I found them lovely. And if you smell it, oh you will savor it more. It is Hoya lucardenasiana. I specially wanted to grow it because the namesake is a batchmate in college who unfortunately neglected her plant and die in her possession. What a shame, i told her, but she has more work than me i suppose.

This one is Hoya mindorensis, also endemic in the country. It is scented too, but not as sweet as the first. It has rather a strong scent, maybe more of the male preference. The background is yellowish because it is so hot here today at 36°C with Heat Index of 40°C. It is killing me, but these hoyas love the heat, as long as they are watered in the evenings after their roots rested from the heat.

I am trying to post for more, but i decided to keep them for next week. But i promise i still have a lot more rubies....that is if i will remember. Thanks everyone.

Ruby Tuesday Too
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Outdoor Wednesday
Floral Friday Fotos