STEMMA

a pdf magazine devoted to Hoya

culture, history, and photography

Editor: Mark Randal

Volume 1, Issue #2, Spring 2007

 Contents
This Issue, Mark Randal----------------------------------------------pg.3
In Cultivation: Hoya Fraterna Blume, MR--------------------pg.4

Technique : Mounting Dischidia , Antone Jones----------------pg.11

Photo Competition Winner: Maggie Alm ------------------pg.21

Letters to the Editor-------------------------------------------------pg.22

Department of Corrections, MR--------------------------------pg.25

Source Materials-----------------------------------------------------pg.31

Glossary-----------------------------------------------------------------pg.32
Back Page: Hoya sp. IML-0831----------------------------------pg.33

2
 This Issue
Welcome to Volume 1, issue#2 of Stemma. On the cover of this issue is a detail from
a painting by San Francisco artist Kevin Mosley featuring Hoya archboldiana C.
Norman. This work is joss paper and acrylic reverse-painted on glass. Kevin is a
promising new artist whose colorful works are held in collections in San Francisco,
New York, London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hawaii, and (soon) Sweden. Kevin has
volunteered to produce a small painting for each winner of the photography
competitionfor the first year of Stemma. Maggie Alm, the winner of this issue's
contest, will receive a painting depicting the lovely Hoya wallichii (Wight) C.M. Burton
that is the subject of her winning photograph.(See page 21.)
You will notice several new features on the contents page for this issue. Several
features, such as In Cultivation, the Photo Contest and the Back Page will appear in
each issue, but there will be a number of periodic features which will revolve to
make way for a larger number of topics to be discussed here.
This issue marks the first appearance of the Technique feature. This first outing, a
step by step guide to mounting Dischidia, is written by Antone Jones, who will
hopefully make many contributions to future issues of Stemma. Mr. Jones, who
collects and mounts these small Hoya relatives, is a resident of the Orlando, Florida
(USA) area. Mr. Jones works at Florida's Tropiflora, a large scale nursery which grows
a mind-bogglingselection of tropical plants, on the web at www.tropiflora.com.
Mr. Jones maintains a website with many fine photographicexamples of his art on the
Web at www.dischidia.com .
In Cultivation features Hoya fraterna Blume this time around. The Department of
Corrections column will correct mistakes made in the last issue of Stemma and touch
on new informationregarding past subjects. The Back Page, presented here for the
first time, will spotlight new or little known species, forms, cultivars or hybrids. The
first plant to be so featured is Hoya sp. IML-0831.
I would like to welcome the many new subscribers to Stemma, and especially note
the many people who have joined through the EpiForums website and the many
French nationals from the AFAHO (Association Francophone des Amateurs de Hoya)
who have subscribed.
Mark Randal

3
In Cultivation: Hoya Fraterna Blume
by Mark Randal
Hoya fraterna Blume is intimately associated with two other Hoyas- Hoya coriacea
Blume, to which it is very closely related and visually very similar, and Hoya meliflua
Merr. ssp. fraterna T. Green, which was mistakenly identified as Hoya fraterna around
1850, an error which was to remain uncorrected for almost 150 years.

Figure 1: Hoya coriacea Blume (L) and Hoya fraterna Blume (R). Note the differing coronal
lobe shapes- H. coriacea's lobes point outwards, while H. fraterna's are upright and blunt.
Photo of H. coriacea courtesy of Bob Ely.

Hoya coriacea was collected in the forests of western Java by Carl Blume, and was
described briefly in 1825 by Blume in Bijdragen Tot De Flora Van Nederlandsch
Indie. It was more fully described, again by Blume, in RhumphiaVolume 4 in 1848.

4
 H. coriacea is a wiry twiner with large , thin, flexible leaves that have the texture of
fine, supple leather (hence coriacea, latin for "leathery"). This plant has large heads of
chartreuse/yellowflower clusters, often comprised of over 50 flowers to each umbel.
In 1849 Blume described a very similar but distinct species, differing in minor
vegetative details and coronal* structure (Hoya coriacea has dull leaves, corona
segments which curve outwards into a pointed hook, and pale chartreuse flowers,
wheras the new species had shiny leaves, coronal lobes that were strongly upright
and not curved outwards, and flowers of a deep gold color). Blume gave this new
plant the specific epithet* "fraterna", meaning in Latin "brother"or "closely allied",
referring to its close resemblance to Hoya coriacea. The description of Hoya fraterna
Blume appeared in Museum BotanicumLugduno-Batavum in 1849. It had been
mentioned previously in the Rumphia V.4 publication of H. coriacea, but only in that
it grew in the same locales as Hoya coriacea- not enough informationto constitute a
publication.
In 1850 Thomas Lobb, a plant collector working for the nursery Veitch & Sons of
Exeter,England, introduceda plant he identified as Hoya fraterna Blume. He cited the
collection locale as Java, but Lobb was notorious for falsifying collection data to
throw his competitors off of his track. It was said by Dale Kloppenburg that the actual
locale of this plant's collection was possibly the Philippines, according to Lobb's
travel records. This plant was very different from what we now know as the true Hoya
fraterna. It had long, extremely thick and hard leaves of a very dark green color, and
flowers of a pinkish-yellow or buff hue, similar to those of Hoya diversifolia Blume,
which dripped copious amounts of nectar. This plant would be accepted as, written
of, and illustrated as Hoya fraterna Blume for the next 140 odd years.

5
 Figure 2: Illustration from Curtis' Botanical magazine, 1852,
labelled Hoya fraterna Blume, actually representingHoya
meliflua Merr. ssp. fraterna T. Green.

This state of affairs was interruptedin 1993, when Tony Lamb recollected the true
Hoya fraterna in Sabah. Initially thought to be a clone of Hoya coriacea, it was later
identified as Hoya fraterna by Ted Green, based on photographs, preserved flowers,
and cuttings sent to him from the Tenom Orchid Center in Sabah, Malaysia. 6
 .
Figure 3: This set of buds of H. fraterna is emerging in two stages. Note the upper buds, still
encased in their protective jacket of sepals, and the lower buds emerging to reveal the typical
round, obtuse buds of the genus Hoya.

Mr. Green looked more closely at the plant known for so long as Hoya fraterna and
determinedthat it was actually a subspecies of Hoya meliflua Merr., a close relative of
Hoya kerrii Craib and Hoya diversifolia Blume. To accommodate this new plant, he
created the new combination of Hoya meliflua Merr. ssp. fraterna T. green, the
subspecies name "fraterna" acknowledging the mistaken name this plant had gone by
for so long.
Hoya fraterna was placed by Blume into Hoya section Physostemma (now
Physostelma). The type for this section is Hoya coriacea, and other members may
include: Hoya macrophylla Blume (and its close relatives H. polystachya Blume, H.
clandestina Blume, etc.) and Hoya cumingiana Decne.

7
 Figure 4: The developing buds are a rich buttery yellow, with pink, orange, and
copper tones when exposedto direct sunlight.

Hoya fraterna is a tough, vigorous plant which presents no serious challenges in

cultivation. Despite its moist forest background, it is quite adaptable and seems
equally at home as a houseplant or in a warm greenhouse. H. fraterna does like
consistent watering, and will dry out and wilt more quickly than many Hoyas due to
its relatively thin leaves and fine stems. The soil for this plant should never be
allowed to dry out completely, and any period of drought will cause desiccation and
blasting of flower buds. H. fraterna, when properly sited, will flower on and off
throughout the year.

8
 H. fraterna performs well in bright indirect light, requiring no direct sun save an hour
or two in the early morning or late afternoon.It will grow lushly in lower levels of
light but will not flower as well. This plant grows well in intermediate temperatures
(13'C to 35'C or 55'F to 95'F), as are found in most homes in temperate to subtropical
areas of the globe.

.
Figure 5: When newly opened, the flowers seem to be rotate.

Since Hoya fraterna is a vigorous, wiry twiner, it should be equipped with a sturdy
trellis or support at least three feet in height. A wire tomato cage or a pair of bamboo
"U"s work very well for this plant. Since internodes* are fairly long, the new stems
should be wound around the supports horizontallyas much as possible to produce a
more densely clothed appearance. Since this species is a strong grower, free bloomer,
and has such a strong root system, it may benefit from potting up more quickly than
most Hoyas. This practice will also reduce watering frequency requirements, as H.
fraterna uses soil moisture rapidly when in active growth.
The leaves of H. fraterna are from 12cm to reportedly 25cm or more (5" to 10"+).
They are a deep shiny green, pinnately* veined with an approximately 1.5cm (2/3")
petiole. The texture, as mentioned above, is rather thin for a Hoya, and is similar to,
but thicker than, a smaller leaf from a Spathiphyllum(peace lilly). The internodes are
quite long- up to 20cm (8"). Peduncles are green when young and can grow to be
7cm (3") in length.
9
 figure 6: the fully opened flowers of H. fraterna

The flowers, borne in huge clusters of up to 50 or more to each peduncle, are of a

less common color for Hoyas- a deep rich gold.The corollas are very hairy, and the
pink and ivory corona stands out prominently.The flowers of H. fraterna are
distinctive right from the start- the sepals are very long and pointed, and enclose
each developing bud in a pointed green "jacket", initially giving each bud the look
of an unopened tulip bloom. The sepals gradually open to reveal developing buttery-
yellow buds. The flowers begin to open when the buds are approximately
1.25cm wide, and at first seem to be rotate*. In the course of a day or two the corolla
lobes will slowly reflex and point straight backwards. The corolla shoulders* are
higher than in most reflexed Hoya flowers, leaving the face of the flower with a flat
surface. The fully opened flowers are particularlybeautiful when viewed from
below, as each flower appears perfectly round and banded in gold.
H. fraterna has little fragrance, perhaps its one drawback in cultivation. Some
growers have noted an "overly-ripe peach" scent from the blooms, and this, along
with flower color, may vary according to cultural conditions and plant health.
10
Technique: Mounting Dischidia
By Antone Jones

What are Dischidia and why mount them?

Dischidia is a genus of plants in the Apocynacea family that are closely related to
Hoya. Dischidia are found throughoutSouth East Asia and Australia. All are
epiphytic vining type plants. Unlike Hoya, Dischidia do not usually have large
umbels of fragrant flowers and rather have somewhat insignificant flowers.

11
 Being that Dischidia are epiphytic, they grow quite well when mounted. Mounting
these plants gives the grower an opportunityto try something new as well as enjoy
the fun of watching a mount fill in with a beautiful plant. Furthermore, pots take up
quite a bit of space and finding a small area on a bright wall to hang a Dischidia
mount is quite easy and space saving.

Getting Started
In order to mount Dischidia, you’ll need a few basic things that are easily obtainable.

• Damp long fibered sphagnum moss

• Plant specimen (here we have Dischidia ruscifolia)
• Needle nose pliers
• Orchid basket wire (for the hook on the mount)
• 40 lb test fishing line
• Cork, driftwood or a tree fern slab

12
 First, I like to soak the sphagnum moss in a very dilute solution of a good orchid
fertilizer. This will provide the plant with some nourishment as soon as it roots and
help ensure you get good strong growth. Also make sure to use a good quality long
fibered moss. Nothing is more annoying than having to try to mount Dischidia with a
multitude of tiny pieces of moss. The nice long strands make this task a breeze.

Next, take whatever medium you chose to mount to (here I chose cork bark) and tie
the fishing line around the back with a good strong knot. Using 40 lb test is
importanthere because if the line is too thin, you run the risk of cutting straight
through the plant when its time to tighten everything down. If the line is too thick it
becomes somewhat difficult to tie the knot.

13
 After the knot is tied, flip over the cork and place the moss on top. Place a good
amount so that it will be easier to keep evenly moist but not so much that it stays too
wet for too long. I also like to trim the moss on the sides of the mount to keep it
looking clean and nice.

14
 After the moss is secured, place the cuttings on the mount in a nice orderly fashion.
It is nice to have the tops of each cutting flush with the moss so that you can take
advantage of every node possible.

15
 Once you’ve lined the cuttings up begin to wrap the fishing line around the cuttings.
Always make sure to secure the line around the nodes. You don’t have to wrap line
around every single node but it is good to do at least ! of them. I like to get as close
to the node as possible. As we know, the node is where the nutrient-obtaining roots
come from on these plants and doing this ensures that the plant will have a good
chance at nice healthy growth.

16
 When you’ve finished wrapping the cuttings, tie another knot on the back of the
mount to secure it all. Make sure it is snug but not overly tight or you risk breaking
the line or damaging the cuttings.

17
\

To make the hook, create a small hole at the top of the mount. If you’re using cork or
driftwood,you may have to use a small drill or a Dremel tool to create a hole. Insert
the wire through and wrap it around creating a sort of clasp that will hold the wire in
place. At the top of the wire, bend it to make a hook. That is where it will hang
from.

18
That’s it! You’re done. All there is left to do now is find a nice spot with bright shade
or filtered sun and hang the mount. Make sure to keep the moss damp but not wet
and in about 5 weeks it will root and you should see some new growth. The
sphagnum only lasts about 1 or 2 years so you may have to replace it every now and
then. 19
 Some More Mounts
Here are some additional photos of other Dischidia mounted. Don’t be afraid to
experiment! Some Hoya also make great mounting subjects. Hoya curtisii, H.
retusa, H. wayetii, H. lacunosa and H. picta do quite well mounted.

20
Photo Contest
The first winner of the Stemma photo contest is Maggie Alm of Sweden.

Maggie's photographis of the lovely Hoya wallichii (Wight) C. M. Burton (referred to by

some as Hoya campanulata Blume). Maggie maintains a website at www.hoyor.net
in both English and Swedish. There is an extensive collection of Hoya photographs
represented there- an excellent source of informationand a pleasure to view. (cont.
on pg.22)

21
For Maggie's winning photograph, she will receive a small painting based on this
image by Kevin Mosley of San Francisco. A reproductionof this painting will be
shown in the next issue of Stemma.
Entries for issue #3's photo competitionshould be sent to markroy68@yahoo.com .
File sizes of 300K or over in a jpeg format are best. Watermarking is encouraged, but
please locate the watermark so as to not obscure the subject of the photo.

Letters to the Editor

Letter 1: This letter is from Sylvia Healey of South Africa.
Hello Mark,
Thank you very much - this is exactly the sort of informationI have been looking
for, for a very long time, so please do keep going. I was most interested to read the
item by Carol Noel about the seed, and was wondering if it would be possible some
time to have an item on growing Hoyas from seed?
Here in South Africa they are not well known at all, and very hard to come by either
plants or information.
I have been fascinated since I was a little girl (long ago!) and my granny had a
carnosa plant growing in her scullery which produced flowers the same as those on
my Sunday school hat. I still have a plant growing from that cutting although my
granny is long gone, and have managed to obtain a few others.
They do quite well here on the Highveld. Except that our soil is on the acid side
generally and it took me a long time to find out that this was a problem. I have been
making up my own food, so am quite relieved that you will be dealing with that
aspect too. Those that originate in SE Asia seem to tolerate our cold dry winters,
although I do bring them inside just in case we have frost.
We took a trip to SE Asia and Borneo last year at this time [ed.-February], and I was
hoping to find out more about them, but the people that I did come into contact with
did not seem to know them by the name Hoya, although I did spot quite a few
around, and am sure that a few more lianas and creepers I saw were also Hoyas, but
not knowing enough about them was unable to do much about them.
We did see a Rafflesia in flower in Borneo, which was the high-light of the trip for
me. Had to struggle through the jungle as, unfortunately,as a result of a motor
accident a couple of months before we left was still on crutches. Amazing what one
can do with determination.
22
I am now agitating to go back, to Borneo in particular, and am sure I will do a lot
better now that I can almost walk again normally. I know I will be fine if I get a lot
more exercise.
Thank you once again and I will look forward to the next edition eagerly.
Regards, Sylvia

Thanks for the kind words, Sylvia. I have been planning a special all-propagation
issue, perhaps for the Fall issue of Vol. 1, with short articles from many different
growers on different propagation techniques. I'll make sure to include at least one
involving growing Hoyas from seed.

Letter 2: In response to my statement that H. waymaniae D. Kloppenburg "has long

peduncles (up to 20cm (8") peduncles have been reported)", David Liddle wrote in
and supplied this photo of a Hoya waymaniae peduncle that is 380mm in length
(38cm or 15"). The picture is reproduced sideways in interest of conserving space.
Mr. Liddle also mentioned having heard of instances of H. waymaniae producing
peduncles as long as 45cm ! (18")

photo of Hoya waymaniae with 38 cm (15") long peduncle by David Liddle.

Letter 3: Also regarding H. waymaniae, Ted Green wrote in to say that the color of
the flowers of this plant shown in issue #1 were uncharacteristically pale, and that
the flowers of H. waymaniae are generally a much more saturated pumpkin-orange.
Mr. Green sent in this photo, and noted that the horizontal position of the peduncle
may be more typical than a pendant position. (Picture shown on page 24.)

23
 photo of Hoya waymaniae by Ted Green

Letter 4: This is an excerpt from a letter from Maggie Alm of Sweden:

Hi Mark,
Thank you for a great magazine. It was very informativeand I'm really looking
forward to the next issue. However, if I may address you with some, hopefully,
constructive criticism. The font was not the best for reading long masses of text.
Although I find ordinary book fonts, such as Times New Roman, utterly boring, they
are much easier to read. Comic sans makes my eyes tired after a while. Also, the
bright colors on text here and there were a bit confusing to the eye...
Maggie

Thanks for the input, Maggie. The font used in Stemma, Comic sans, has been a bit
controversial.People seem to love it or hate it. I selected it for a number of reasons-
ease of reading and informality being the two chief ones. However, as some have
found it not-so-easy on the eyes, I have changed the font for this issue to Optima,
which seems quite readable. I would like to encourage readers to e-mail me and let
me know their opinion on the font and the colored text.
Address all letters to markroy68@yahoo.com 24
Department of Corrections
by Mark Randal
Note: This section will appear regularly in Stemma as needed to correct
misstatements or further discussion, but it will not (hopefully) be so long as in this
instance.

Part 1: I incorrectly stated in the article on Hoya waymaniae D. Koppenburg that "This
species was first collected in the late '80s by Arden Dearden in Sarawak". It appears
that I was wrong here, and that this was not H. waymaniae's first verifiable
collection. A more correct statement would have been:
"Hoya waymaniae was collected, possibly for the first time, by Dr. Ben Wallace
around 1980."
This error was first brought to my attention by Christine Burton (see DOC part two),
who stated, referring to Stemma V1, #1 and your editor:
"The first glaring error I found was on page 3 where he said, “This species was first
collected in the late 80’s by Arden Dearden.”
FACT: This is not true. I KNOW that I had this species before the late 1980s and I
know the source of my plant. The plant which was later published by Kloppenburg
as Hoya waymaniae was collected by a team from the Marie Selby Botanical Garden
of Sarasota, Florida, which distributed it to various other gardens and to some of us
hoya sellers NOT in the late 80s but in the early 1980s. I don’t know that theirs was
the first time it was collected or not. It was sold by many hoya sellers long before the
late 1980s as Hoya sp. 85-1981. Two of the men on that collecting trip were Steve
Ingram and a man named Atwood. Don’t know his first name but his wife, Donna
spent a day entertaining me the last time I visited Selby. It was Steve Ingram and
Harry Luther who gave me my first start of this plant and also a herbarium specimen
of it. I gave the specimen to the herbarium at U. of CA-Berkeley as a token of my
appreciation for their lending me their hoya herbarium specimens. If you live near
there or near Sarasota, FL, I feel sure you’d be allowed to view specimens of this
species which was collected by these men. I do not question that the hoya grown by
Wayman was collected by Arden Dearden. I KNOW, however, that this species was
growing in my greenhouse long before the late 1980s and I KNOW it was collected
by a team from Selby. I also KNOW that the 85-1981is a Selby Accession number. I
know that because they gave me a copy of their Hoya accession list and asked me
look it over and make corrections if I thought there were wrong names on it."
25
 I next heard from Ted Green of Hawaii, who supplied me with this information:
In 1980 Ben Wallace of the Sydney Bot. Gardens visited Tony Lamb in Sabah and
they went collecting. Duplicates of all of the things that they collected Ben took back
to Sydney, where I saw them and got a bunch of cuttings (some of my things with a
collection number beginning with an 80- were things that Ben gave me). That was
about in 1982. Ben also shared with the Marie Selby Gardens and later I saw the
waymaniae there and told them what it was, as I did many of their other things."
As can be plainly seen, these are two quite different stories, but they share a
connecting thread: the Marie Selby Botanical Garden (MSBG), so I began my search
for corroborating evidence there. I contacted several staff members and received this
first relevant bit of informationfrom Rosalind Rowe, the Plant Records Keeper at
MSBG. She had this to say:
"Well, a puzzle…
Our plant accession #85-1981 is a fern collected from Ecuador .
The H. waymaniae we have in our current records (#1995-0401)was obtained from
the Sydney Botanical Gardens in 1995; in the computer records, B. Wallace is cited
as the original collector of the plant material and Borneo is cited as the location of
origin.
Per oral discussion with other MSBG staff, herbariumspecimens from Ingram and
Atwood are probably from the MSBG living collection."

A good beginning, but the accession date seemed off, and the accession number
supplied by Ms. Burton didn't fit in. Since Rosalind seemed to be hinting that there
may be more data to be had in the MSBG Living Collection, I next wrote to that
departmentand found that the Curator of Living Collections was none other than
Harry Luther, the source Ms. Burton cited as supplying her with plant material and a
herbariumspecimen of H. waymaniae. His response cleared up several points, and is
as follows:
"Dear Mark; we still have the plant, the Selby # is 95-401; the other # you have is
the Sydney Bot. Gard. 851981. The plant came to us from Sydney via Dr. Ben
Wallace from the Sydney BG in 1985 or 86, Orig. from Borneo, the Tenom Orchid
Center. Why the plant was not accessioned here until 1995 I cant say. It's in the SEL
herbariumas SEL 66041, Stephen W. Ingram 1123, 23 Sept. 1991. I believe this is
clonotypic material. The plant is a finicky grower, its lost its roots again and is re-
growing but is probably safe. Im sure we gave cuttings to several growers over the
years. HEL"
26
As can be seen, this supports Mr. Green's response and explains the wrongly
attributed accession number supplied by Ms. Burton. Since the Sydney Botanical
Garden is also mentioned as a link in this chain, I next contacted them about the
matter. They confirmed the accession number and collector (Ben Wallace) of this
plant material, and supplied me with the accession data for the plant. It is as follows:

Hoya sp.
Family: Apocynaceae
Accession: 851981
Internal Record Number: NSW4054336
Collection Location: Near Nabawan, on road to Labuan River.
Country: MALAYSIA Sabah
Collector: B.J. Wallace
Collector’s number:84302
Date: 05 Jan 1984
Notes: Tall open rainforest, well developed with a low and tall shrub layer, and a
dominant layer c. 20-25 m high. Podsolic sandy soil. Epiphyte on small tree trunk, c.
15 cm diameter, at c. 2 m height. Margins crinkly, brown blotching above.

The date supplied here is the Sydney BG accession date, not the collection date, so
this does not verify the year of collection as 1980, but as Mr. Green's other
informationproved to be entirely true I see no reason to doubt his claim that the year
of collection was 1980.

Part 2: I want to thank Christine M. Burton for taking the time to throughly critique
the first issue of Stemma (see DOC part 1). Copies of this critique should be available
through her MSN forum at:
www.http://groups.msn.com/HoyasRUs/_whatsnew.msnw

Ms. Burton made several important corrections to my text, which I will note here
first, and several points which are dubious, which I will address after.
1- I was horrified to find, thanks to Christine, that I had misspelled the word
"etiolate" as "etoliate" not once but twice, in the text and the glossary. I suppose that is
what comes of editing ones own work! My apologies.
2- The original collection site of Hoya bella was cited incorrectly as "the Tuang Kolo
mountains"in the last issue of Stemma. Ms. Burton also incorrectly cited this location
in her correction as "Tuang Kola Mountain". The correct citation from the original
publicationis "Taung Kola Mountain". Third time's the charm? 27
 3- The most serious error was quite a large one. I incorrectly cited the author
references for the two hoyas in the longest article in the magazine. The title of the
article ran "Hoya Lanceolata Wall. ex Don and its subspecies bella Hook". As Ms.
Burtonpoints out, the author citations should be written thus- Hoya lanceolata Wall.
ex D. Don and it's subspecies bella (Hook) D. H. Kent . The difference is important-the
addition of "D." to the "Don" reference distinguishes between the (at least) three Dons
who have worked as taxonomists or botanists. The addition of D.H. Kent to the
citation for ssp. bella and the placing of Hooker's name into parenthesis indicates that
the rank of the plant (from it's original place, determinedby Hooker) was changed
(by Kent). Again, my apologies, and my thanks to Ms. Burton.
The rest of Ms. Burton's critique adds some interesting points in several places,
particularlyin regard to the identity of the Hoya known as Hoya weebella Kloppenburg
or H. dickasoniana Li. However, there are several places where I believe she erred, or
brought up points which require explanation. I'll address four of those points.

1-Ms. Burton states that "Randal said (of Hoya lanceolata), "it was published by
Nathaniel Wallich" which is not true. Wallich put that name on a couple of
herbariumspecimens and mentioned it in correspondence,but he did not publish it."
She later states, in pointing out that D. Don did little to add to the description, "One
can hardly call David Don's publication of it as fully described but I suppose adding
"more"in front of it is technically correct, since Wallich didn't describe it at all.
I was aware of all this at the time I wrote this article, and the point is technically
correct. I chose not to delve into the veracity of the author citation for Hoya
lanceolata for the following reason: H lanceolata Wall. ex. D. Don is the accepted
name and author citation for this plant. It can be found, as well as in many other
places, in the Index Kewensis' IPNI that Ms. Burton refers to in her critique. It is
written as such almost universally, and indeed was written as such by Ms Burton in
her preceding point in this same way. I felt, and still feel, that it would be
irresponsible to attempt to discredit the currently accepted author citation without a
lengthy, well-documentedpresentation and a follow-up petition to Index Kewensis
and any other reference source for plant names to change the author citation. I didn't
want to open up this particular can of worms in Stemma, and feel that it will only
lead to a great deal of confusion over the identification of this plant. As long as we
accept this citation (in order to avoid confusion), we must respect the author citation
of Nathaniel Wallich and David Don.
I will admit that this was a judgement call on my part, and it may be that I should
have chosen my words more carefully, to indicate that the accepted author citation is
doubtful but generally accepted. 28
 2-Ms. Burton states :
"Mr. Randal says, "the plant initially known as Hoya paxtonii, represented by
herbariumsheet Wallich 8164B also is being looked at closely, as it may be a distinct
species." I wonder where he comes up with such statements. No where has there
been a single publication that even suggested such."
My source for this speculation is David Liddle, an Australian plantsman who has
worked in Hoya taxonomy for over 20 years. He has been looking at this plant as
possibly being a distinct species, and told me that I might attribute the thought to him.
I was attempting to hint at the idea in the article, but did not want to commit more to
the idea myself, as David Liddle has done the research and hard work, not I, and he
will hopefully publish his findings at some point.
3- Ms. Burton states, referring to your editor and Hoya lanceolata:
"He said, “The publicationwas based on two herbariumsheets – Wallich 8164A
from Nepalia (Nepal) and Wallich 8164B from Sylhet.
FACT: NOT TRUE. David Don’s publicationmentions only 1 (one) specimen, sans
number and says it is from “Napalia (sic).” NO WHERE is there a publication citing
the Sylhet specimen as being a type specimen of this species."
In point of fact, the text of David Don's publication in Prodromus Florae Nepalensis
does not cite any herbarium sheet at all. It does say "Hab. in Nepalia. Wallich."
which I take to mean "Habitat in Nepal. Wallich", and at a stretch one could interpret
this to refer to the sheet from "Nepalia", but no sheet is mentioned by name. The two
sheets mentioned above, Wallich 8164A & Wallich 8164B were both associated with
the name "Hoya lanceolata" at this time, and a specific sheet was not mentioned until
1834, when Robert Wight described this species further in Contributions to the
Botany of India. Since I was referring specifically to the publication by David Don
here, and not later works which cited the Wallich 8164A sheet as this species' type
sheet, both sheets must be considered as possible sources for Don's description.
4- Ms. Burton takes exception to my use of several words in Stemma V1, #1. I won't
go into all of them here, but I will explore one comment.
Ms. Burton states:
"On page 11. Mr. Randal says, "The corona segments of our H. lanceolata are
narrowly terete,* while those of Hoya bella are cymbiforum(sic)* (boat-shaped)."
"Fact: All he has told you is that he doesn't know the meaning of the word "terete".
"No way could anyone correctly call the corona segments of Hoya lanceolata ,
terete, and be right. Definition of terete: "Circular in cross-section, used, for example,
of a plant stem." This definition can be found on page 404 of the Concise Oxford
Dictionary of Botany.
*The word Ms. Burton is referencing is actually "cymbiform". 29
 This is a rather fine point. Ms. Burton is certainly correct regarding the definition of
"terete", and it was my understanding that the corona lobes of H. lanceolata were
indeed rather (but not perfectly) round. I have not examined the corona segments of
Hoya lanceolata under magnificationpersonally, and so can not vouch for the exact
cross-sectional shape, but there are several precedents for the use of this term to
describe the corona lobes of H. lanceolata.
Here is an excerpt from Douglas Kent's 1981 paper Notes on HOYA in Cultivation
(1):

30
Here Mr. Kent is presenting a chart delineating the differences between Hoya bella
(Hook) D. H. Kent and Hoya lanceolata Wall. ex D. Don. The relevant portion is the
description of the corona of Hoya lanceolata. Note that Mr. Kent refers to the corona
of H. lanceolata as being "terete". There is further precedence, as the word "terete"
was also used to describe the corona lobes of H. lanceolata by J. D. Hooker in Flora
of British India 4 (1883), wherein he states that the corona segments of H. lanceolata
are "terete, with a short flat area above".
However, other sources have agreed with Ms. Burton's comment that "terete" does
not adequately describe these tiny structures. The term "canaliculate"* has some
merit, as the coronal lobes of H. lanceolata have several grooves or canals running
longitudinallyalong their length, but this does not properly describe the shape of the
lobe in cross-section, as "terete" attempts to do. I will leave it to those with the
equipment and technical expertise to assign a more precise description to the coronal
lobes of H. lanceolata.
Botanical terminologyis important to the discussion of any taxon of plants, and
Stemma will strive to be as correct in fact and usage as possible. Criticisms of
Stemma's usage will be addressed as appropriate,and as space allows. Stemma does
like to hear from its' readership, so please send any corrections or criticisms to
markroy68@yahoo.com.

Source Materials
for In Cultivation- Hoya Passport Series, Dale Kloppenburg,2005; Museum
Botanicum Lugduno-Batavum, C. L. Blume ,1849-1851, Bijdragen Tot de Flora
van nederlandsch Indie, C. L. Blume, 1825; Rumphia V.4, C. L. Blume, 1848;
The Hoyan V.4 pgs 63-66

for Department of Corrections- The Flora of British India V.4, J. D. Hooker,1883;

Prodromus Florae Nepalensis, David Don, 1825; Notes on HOYA in Cultivation
(1), Douglas Kent, 1981; Contributions to the Botany of India, R. Wight, 1834

31
Glossary
Author citation -in nomenclature,the citation following the species or taxon name
consisting of the name(s) of the individual(s) who described a species or taxon or
transfered it from one rank to another.
Canaliculate- channelled: excavated longitudinally, with a concave line or row of
lines.
Corolla shoulders-the inner portionof the corolla (as seen from above when the
flowers is pointed upwards), when the corolla is reflexed, so that the inner portion
of the corolla is higher than its outer tip.
Corona-the central potion of a Hoya flower consisting of fused male and female
reproductive organs (androecium and gynoecium).
Coronal- of or pertaining to the corona.
Internode- the section of stem between two leaf nodes.
Pinnate-the arrangement of veins or leaflets within a leaf so that secondary veins (or
leaflets) all lead off of a main vein (or midrib) in more or less parallel rows.
Similar to the structure of a feather.
Reflexed- bent sharply backwards or downwards
Rotate-wheel shaped. In a flower, the petals are rotate when they extend
perpendicularto the axis of the flower. Neither reflexed (bent backwards) nor
campanulate (bent forwards and cupped).
Specific epithet- the second part of a binomial species name, where the first part
represents the genus and the second part the species.
Terete- round in cross-section or curled from the margins to form a cylinder.

32
Back Page: Hoya sp. IML 0831
(pictured on page 34)
Synonyms: DMC-1622.

Country of origin: Philippines.

Related/similar species: Hoya benquetensis Schltr., Hoya bordenii Schltr.

Flower color: corolla- pale orange/corona-red.

Flower size: corolla is 1.5 cm in diameter when fully open, before reflexing.

Flower form: reflexed.

Scent: little to none.

Leaf size: up to 4.5 cm wide, up to 15 cm in length.

Collector: David Cumming.

Temperature range: intermediate-13'Cto 35'C (55'F to 95'F)

Watering requirements: regular watering, never let dry out.

.
Light requirements: part sun to very bright indirect.

Cultivation notes: "sp. IML 0831 appears to be very resistant to mealies, fungi and
other routine greenhouse pests. It grows well in various conditions...doesn't sulk
when it doesn't have perfection. It blooms early and often. My plant outside blooms
all year! It is very forgiving. I give it lots of water and keep the pot small.
Temperatures down to the upper 50s (F) don't seem to phase it in the least." - Carol
Noel

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34