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.
Here are comparison photos of the flowers of the former Hoya polystachya, now H. latifolia, and Hoya sp. Sarawak ‘Pink’ also latifolia. Hoya polystachya (latifolia) on top.
Finally got this one to put on peduncles, bud up and flower after spraying a couple of times with a product called PureCrop 1. Much more about this miracle insecticide in the future on this site.
For some reason I had a very difficult time getting this plant to take off and grow well. I had to start it over a number of times and came very close to discarding it. I had issues with root rot, leaves that would become disfigured, and pest issues. I finally got it to begin to pick up and do much better in the summer of 2023.
