Friday, October 7, 2011

Madangia (Hoya) inflata

First described by PI Forster and the late Mr Liddle in 1997, this plant was initially placed as a monotypic genus based on the fused corolla and fused outer corona as shown in pictures above. The genus Madangia is subsumed within Hoya now, I am retaining this in the title merely for nostalgia.

The line drawing from the original publication is reproduced as follows. The venation of the dark green leaf as well as the thin black stem is rather characteristic as well.
So far it has only been found in the Madang Province of New Guinea. After numerous attempts to establish this plant, I eventually have a flowering vine this year - so its certainly not one of those robust vines that had run amok at the plot.

Like most tropical Hoyas, a high humidity (above 80%) and a wooden trellis or pole to climb and root is important for success. Some Hoya growers coil their vines around the metal wires of the hanging pots - which will not optimise root growth. Peduncle and flowers appeared at about 30-40% shade so it does not seem to need a lot of light.

5 comments:

Hermes said...

What a very unusual flower.

zog zog said...

Yes, quite un-hoya like

KY said...

Must you tempt people with such nice and rare flowers? Try to find a word but best I can find 2 only, ENTICING! I am CHARMED!!!

Hort Log said...

Mr Foong,
yes this one rather uncommon but I am sure it will be available widely soon.

Anonymous said...

Wow fantastic flower, never seen this before. Hope to see local nurseries bring it in soon.

Hon. E

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