Hoya australis

Last updated

Hoya australis
Hoya australis Fagg.jpg
Subspecies australis in the ANBG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Hoya
Species:
H. australis
Binomial name
Hoya australis
R.Br. ex J. Traill [1]

Hoya australis, commonly known as waxflower or common hoya, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the Apocynaceae or dogbane family and is native to northern and eastern Australia, Papuasia and Melanesia. It is a succulent vine or subshrub with fleshy or leathery, elliptic, oblong, egg-shaped or more or less round leaves, racemes of fleshy, cream-coloured and red flowers, and spindle-shaped follicles. It is a popular garden plant, noted for its fragrant flowers.

Contents

Description

Hoya australis is a succulent climbing vine to subshrub that typically reaches a height of 4–10 m (13–33 ft). It has fleshy or leathery, elliptic, oblong, egg-shaped or more or less round leaves up to 150 mm (5.9 in) long and 120 mm (4.7 in) wide. Leaves growing in sunnier positions are a more yellowish green while those in shadier situations are dark green in colour. The flowers are arranged in racemes 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) in diameter, each flower 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long on a pedicel 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long. The flowers are fleshy, bell-shaped to wheel-shaped, cream-coloured with red under the corona, with egg-shaped lobes, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long and 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) wide. The flowers have a strong sweet scent and produce abundant nectar. The corona lobes are oval, cream-coloured, 1.2–3.5 mm (0.047–0.138 in) long and 1.0–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) wide. Flowering time depends on subspecies, and the fruit is a spindle-shaped follicle 90–130 mm (3.5–5.1 in) long. [2] [3]

Taxonomy

Hoya australis was first formally described in 1828 by James Traill from an unpublished description by Robert Brown. [4] [5] The specific epithet (australis) is Latin for "southern". [6]

Subspecies

In 1988, Ken Hill described subspecies australis and subsp. sanae in the journal Telopea , [7] and in 1991, Paul Irwin Forster and David Liddle described subsp. oramicola, subsp. rupicola and subsp. tenuipes, in the journal Austrobaileya , [8] and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

Distribution and habitat

This species of Hoya is endemic to Australia, and is found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.

Subspecies australis occurs in eastern Australia from the Torres Strait in northern Queensland to Dorrigo in New South Wales. [8] [15] Subspecies oramicola is restricted to Melville Island|Melville and Bathurst Islands north of Darwin, subsp. rupicola occurs in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Top End of the Northern Territory on sandstone outcrops and cliffs. [8] [16] [17] subsp. sanae grows in foreshore vine thickets on Cape York Peninsula and some offshore islands and subsp. tenuipes is found on the southern Cape York Peninsula, as far south as Innisfail, and in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Melanesia. [8]

Ecology

It serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the Queensland butterfly the no-brand crow ( Euploea alcathoe ), [18] and the common Australian crow ( E. core ). [19] Flowers are pollinated by the southern grass-dart ( Ocybadistes walkeri ). [20]

Use in horticulture

Hoya australia is a popular garden and houseplant in Australia, where it flowers best in a well-lit position. It is often grown in containers and trained to grow on trellises on verandahs, fences and in glasshouses. It is a butterfly-attracting plant in the garden. [19] It can be grown indoors provided it receives direct sunlight. [21]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hoya</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Hoya is a genus of over 500 species of plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, commonly known as waxflowers. Plants in the genus Hoya are mostly epithytic or lithophytic vines, rarely subshrubs, with leathery, fleshy or succulent leaves, shortly tube-shaped or bell-shaped flowers with five horizontally spreading lobes, the flowers in umbels or racemes, and spindle-shaped or cylindrical to oval follicles containing flattened egg-shaped to oblong seeds.

<i>Hoya carnosa</i> Species of plant

Hoya carnosa, the porcelainflower or wax plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to East Asia. It is a common house plant grown for its attractive waxy foliage, and sweetly scented flowers. It is grown well in pots and hanging baskets.

<i>Eremophila oldfieldii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila oldfieldii, commonly known as pixie bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with rough bark, broad, flat or narrow fleshy leaves and red, orange or yellow flowers.

<i>Wurmbea dioica</i> Species of plant

Wurmbea dioica, commonly known as early Nancy, is a species of plant in the family Colchicaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a herb with three linear to thread-like leaves and usually two to seven white flowers with a purple or greenish nectary band.

<i>Leionema elatius</i> Species of flowering plant

Leionema elatius, commonly known as tall phebalium, is a shrub species that is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It has glossy green, variably-shaped leaves and clusters of white-lemon flowers in spring.

<i>Philotheca buxifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Philotheca buxifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with more or less oblong leaves and solitary white to pink flowers arranged singly on the ends of branchlets.

<i>Persoonia hirsuta</i> Species of flowering plant

Persoonia hirsuta, commonly known as the hairy geebung or hairy persoonia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is a hairy, spreading to low-lying shrub with linear, lance-shaped or spatula-shaped leaves and yellow or orange flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to ten on a rachis up to 20 mm (0.79 in) long.

<i>Lissanthe strigosa</i> Species of plant

Lissanthe strigosa, commonly known as peach heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and white to pink, cylindrical flowers.

<i>Pouzolzia australis</i> Species of flowering plant

Pouzolzia australis, synonyms including Boehmeria australis and Boehmeria calophleba, is a species of large shrub or small tree in the plant family Urticaceae. It is endemic to small islands belonging to Australia and New Zealand – Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island, and the Kermadec Islands. The population on Norfolk island, sometimes treated as a distinct subspecies, is critically endangered. In the Kermadec Islands, it was described in 2018 as "threatened – nationally endangered".

<i>Dudleya attenuata</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya attenuata is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common name taper-tip liveforever, native to Baja California and a small portion of California. It is a rosette-forming leaf succulent which has narrow pencil-shaped leaves that can often be found covered in a white epicuticular wax. The thin, sprawling stems branch to form the clusters of rosettes, with plants creating a "clump" up to 40 cm wide. The small flowers are white or yellow, with 5 spreading petals. It is a diverse, variable species that extends from the southernmost coast of San Diego County to an area slightly north of the Vizcaino Desert, hybridizing with many other species of Dudleya in its range. Some plants with white or pinkish flowers were referred to as Orcutt's liveforever, referring to a former subspecies split on the basis of the flower color.

<i>Disphyma australe</i> Species of succulent

Disphyma australe is a species of flowering plant in the family Aizoaceae and is endemic to New Zealand. It is a prostrate, succulent annual shrub or short-lived perennial plant with stems up to 2 m long, leaves that are three-sided in cross-section with a rounded lower angle, and white to deep pink daisy-like flowers that are 2–4 cm (0.79–1.57 in) in diameter with 3–5 rows of petals and multiple stamens. Disphyma australe is a coastal plant and therefore can be found at cliff faces, gravel beaches, salt meadows and estuaries.

<i>Verticordia fimbrilepis</i> Species of flowering plant

Verticordia fimbrilepis, commonly known as shy featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, bushy shrub with one openly branched main stem at its base, small, pointed leaves and rounded groups of pink flowers near the ends of the branches.

Verticordia fimbrilepis subsp. australis, commonly known as southern shy featherflower is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender shrub with one openly branched main stem at its base, small, pointed leaves and rounded groups of pink flowers near the ends of the branches.

<i>Grevillea brachystylis</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Grevillea brachystylis, also known as short-styled grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading to erect shrub with linear to narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrow end towards the base, and wheel-like clusters of hairy red flowers.

<i>Thryptomene australis</i> Species of flowering plant

Thryptomene australis, commonly known as hook-leaf thryptomene, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, bushy and spreading shrub with upward-pointing leaves with the tip curving outwards, and flowers with white petals arranged spike-like near the ends of the branchlets.

Paul Irwin Forster is an Australian botanist. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Queensland in 2004 with his thesis The pursuit of plants : studies on the systematics, ecology and chemistry of the vascular flora of Australia and related regions.

<i>Philotheca difformis</i> Species of plant

Philotheca difformis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to continental eastern Australia. It is a shrub with variably-shaped leaves depending on subspecies, and white flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to four on the ends of the branchlets. Subspecies difformis is commonly known as the small-leaf wax-flower.

<i>Dischidia ovata</i> Species of plant in the family Apocynaceae

Dischidia ovata, commonly called watermelon dischidia, is a small vine in the frangipani and hoya family Apocynaceae, native to New Guinea and Cape York Peninsula, Australia. The species name ovata refers to its ovate leaves, its common name refers to the leaf venation that resembles a watermelon rind. The species is succulent and grows as an epiphytic or lithophytic vine in a variety of habitats.

Dudleya cymosasubsp. costatifolia, known commonly as the Pierpoint Springs dudleya or the Pierpoint Springs liveforever, is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae, narrowly endemic to a locality in Tulare County, California, United States. It is a clumping plant with small rosettes and bright yellow flowers, resembling alpine cushion plants.

<i>Hoya anulata</i> Species of plant

Hoya anulata is a species of flowering plant in the Apocynaceae or dogbane family and is endemic to Cape York and parts of Southeast Asia. It is a epiphytic or lithophytic vine with fleshy, egg-shaped leaves, fleshy pale pink and white flowers, and spindle-shaped follicles.

References

  1. "Hoya australis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 Forster, Paul I.; Liddle, David J. "Hoya australis". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  3. Elliot, Rodger W.; Jones, David L.; Blake, Trevor (1990). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation. Vol. 5, Gr–J. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. pp. 386–387. ISBN   0-85091-285-7.
  4. "Hoya australis". APNI. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  5. Traill, James (1828). "Descriptions of plants belonging to the genus Hoya". Transactions of the Horticultural Society. 7: 28. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  6. Simpson, D.P. (1979). Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5th ed.). London: Cassell. p. 883. ISBN   0-304-52257-0.
  7. Hill, Ken D. (1988). "A revision of Hoya (Asclepiadaceae) in Australia". Telopea. 3 (2): 250–252. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Forster, Paul I.; Liddle, David J. (1991). "Variation in Hoya australis R.Br. ex Traill (Asclepiadaceae)". Austrobaileya. 3 (3): 508–518. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  9. "Hoya australis subsp. australis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  10. "Hoya australis subsp. oramicola". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  11. "Hoya australis subsp. rupicola". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  12. "Hoya australis subsp. sanae". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  13. "Hoya sanae". APNI. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  14. "Hoya australis subsp. tenuipes". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  15. "Hoya australis subsp. australis". Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  16. "Hoya australis". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  17. "Hoya australis subsp. rupicola". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  18. Braby, Michael F. (2005). The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing. pp.  194. ISBN   0-643-09027-4.
  19. 1 2 Clyne, Densey (2000). Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden. Sydney: Reed New Holland. p. 50. ISBN   1-876334-56-8.
  20. Forster, Paul I. (1992). "Pollination of Hoya australis (Asclepiadaceae) by Ocybadistes walkeri sothis (Lepidoptera: Hesperidae)". Australian Entomological Magazine. 19: 39–43.
  21. Ratcliffe, David; Ratcliffe, Patricia (1987). Australian Native Plants for Indoors. Crows Nest, NSW: Little Hills Press. p. 98. ISBN   0-949773-49-2.