I received a small cutting of a Hoya called Hoya sp. Papua Long Leaves (NOID) in late spring of 2022 from an Indonesian vendor who sold plants on Etsy. The cutting arrived in pretty good shape and grew well right from the start. I loved the long pointy leaves, and really wanted to know what I had received. I narrowed it down to two possibilities; it could either be H. leucantha or H. paradisea. I would have to wait until it flowered. Below the leaves of Hoya leucantha:

Leucantha means white-flowered, and that is what Hoya leucantha’s name is derived from.

Similar to Hoya patella Schltr. in corona morphology, as both species have erect, oblong inner corona processes and spreading narrow, oblong outer corona lobe processes, but they can be separated on peduncle length, number of flowers per inflorescence and corolla type and size (peduncle 1.4 – 4 cm long, 20 – 30 flowers per inflorescence, corolla rotate, 12 –15 mm diam in Hoya leucantha vs peduncle 2 – 3 mm long, 1– 2 flowers per inflorescence, corolla broadly campanulate, 3 – 4 cm diam in Hoya patella), based on Rodda and Simonsson, Blumea 67: 139 –155, 2022. (Big thank you to Mary Caroll for the research and retrieving this information for me)

Hoya leucantha is known from three localities in Indonesia, West Papua Province, the type collection from Utakwa River, one specimen from bomberai Peninsula, and one unvouchered record from Mimka Regency (Near Timika Town) in Papua Province.

Hoya leucantha was first collected by Cecil Boden Kloss in Indonesia, Papua Province, Utakwa River to Mt. Carstensz, at a canoe camp in 1912-1913. It was part of the Wollaston Expedition in Dutch New Guinea. The epiphytic plant was found at 500 ft in elevation.

We will begin talking about Hoya leucantha. For now here is a teaser photo of the blooms.

Two months after Hoya stenaokei bloomed for me, it decided to flower again with the same number of blooms – seven.

Here is a photo I quickly snapped this morning of the flowers on Hoya sp. Sarawak. I thought it was unusual that the peduncle of flowers was shaped like a rectangle.

I’m kind of surprised that I still have this one around, honestly, as it has been such a poor grower over the years. I apologize for less than stellar photo, but the plant is actually doing pretty well right now. I will try to get a photo up of the entire plant as soon as I can disentangle it from inside the tent.

I don’t really have that much to say about this species other than it is nice to have a pink flowered Hoya latifolia, and I wish it was as vigorous as Hoya polystachya. If you can get it to grow well for you, it is capable of becoming a striking specimen. It might be worth checking out if you are in the market for a large leaved Hoya that offers a bit of a challenge.