Wax flower (Hoya lacunosa)

Wax flower (Hoya lacunosa) is a plant species in Apocynaceae, epiphytic, gummy, round stem, segmented, up to 3 meters long, slightly woody, grows twisted or hanging or attached to tree bark with short roots and very firmly attached.

H. lacunosa has leaves with three different shapes, including heart-shaped, green, 2-2.5 cm long, 3 mm thick, 1-2 cm wide, a wavy surface between the leaf bones, flat edges, pointed and protruding tips. The leaves contain a white sap or liquid.

A single root, minimalistic and not branched, arises from the stem and does not gather at a single point, is small and short, is brown and is tightly attached to the bark of the host tree and there are usually colonies of black ants.

Compound flowers arranged in bunches. The petals, crown and corona are five each. The corona is an additional crown. The reproductive organs consist of the pistil and stamens which are arranged in the gynostemium. The extended stigma is rectangular and in the center of the corona.

The stamens compact and form the pollinia structure. Each bud has five pairs of pollinia. The pollinia structure consists of a corpusculum and translator apparatus. Flowers have a fragrance and contain a lot of honey which ants, butterflies, bees and birds are very fond of.

Each bunch blossoms for a period of time, but it rarely produces fruit. Most flowers are in November. The flower formation stage to anthesis is 4-5 weeks and fruit development from pollination to breaking is 4-6 weeks.

Wax flower can grow and produce flowers at a temperature of 27C, humidity 70-84%, light intensity 9.28-13.28 MJ/m2/day and rainfall 55-550 mm. Flowering lasts for most of the year, alternated by two months.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Tribe: Marsdenieae
Genus: Hoya
Species: Hoya lacunosa

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