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Wax flower (Hoya lacunosa)

Dlium 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.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Tribe: Marsdenieae
Genus: Hoya R.Br. in Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holland.: 459 (1810)
Species: Hoya lacunosa Blume in Bijdr. Fl. Ned. Ind.: 1063 (1827)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Otostemma lacunosum (Blume) Blume in Rumphia 4: 30 (1849)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Hoya lacunosa var. pallidiflora Hook. in Bot. Mag. 87: t. 5272 (1861)
Hoya suaveolens Miq. in Fl. Ned. Ind. 2: 525 (1857)

PUBLICATIONS

Albers, F. & Meve, U. (eds.) (2002). Illustrated handbook of succulent plants Asclepiadaceae, corr. 2nd printing: 1-318. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg,New York.

Aung, Y.L., Aung, M.H., Tan, Y. & Jin, X. (2025). An updated checklist of vascular plants of Myanmar. PhytoKeys 261: 135-364.

Kloppenburg, D. & Wayman, A. (2007). The world of Hoyas a book of pictures, rev. ed.,: 1-249. Orca publishing company, Central Point, Oregon.

Lamb, A. & Rodda, M. (2016). A guide to Hoyas of Borneo: 1-204. Natural history publications (Borneo).

Middleton, J.D. (ed.) (2019). Flora of Singapore 13: 1-654. Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Nurtjahya, E. & al. (2026). Flowering Plants of Bangka Island: Native and Introduced. Acta Botanica Hungarica 68: 127-156.

Rahayu, S. & Wanntorp, L. (2012). Notes on the species diversity of Hoya (Apocynaceae - Asclepiadoideae) of Sumatra. Asklepios 113: 17-26.

Rahayu, S. (2012). Hoya (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) diversity in Gunung Gede Pangrango national park, west Java, Indonesia. Reinwardtia 13: 331-339.

Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (1995). Flora of China 16: 1-479. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

VERNACULAR NAME

English: Wax flower
Indonesia: Bunga lilin, Bunga embun
Java: Kembang lilin, Umbel alas
Melayu: Bungo lilin, Bungo ambun

Aryo Bandoro
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