Well, here it is. I hope folks find this useful.
Ann
Hoya of the Month - H. lacunosa
Hoya lacunosa, Blume 1826
While this Hoya is one of the more common ones, it grows quickly, blooms early and often, and is quite hearty, thus providing nearly instant gratification while we wait and wait for some of our more temperamental window pets to grow and bloom.
Name Origin: H. lacunosa was named as such by Blume because of its “lacunose” leaves (meaning, “furrowed or pitted; having shallow cavities”).
Origins & Ecology: H. lacunosa is common to Malaysia and Indonesia, and also has been found growing in India, China, Singapore, Thailand, Borneo, and Sumatra. It is commonly found along waterways in non-mountainous forest regions. According to the BBC, Indonesia has many climates due to its towering mountains, lowland areas, and coastal waterways. However, what is consistent is its two monsoon seasons. The north monsoon season (coming from China and the north Pacific) occurs from November to March; while the south monsoon, which comes from Australia and the Indian Ocean, lasts from May to September. Generally speaking, both Malaysia and Indonesia gets between 60 to 160 inches of rainfall a year. Even during the monsoons, both countries receive at least four hours of sunlight a day. Given that H. lacunosa is most commonly found in the low-lying areas (which are more “tropical” than the cooler mountainous regions), one can infer that it is a warmer-loving, and humid-loving plant that enjoys bright light.
Culture: H. lacunosa is a climber in its natural environment, but in “captivity” is most often displayed as a hanging plant. The plant does best in bright indirect light, and/or, if in a window, can take a couple hours of early morning or late afternoon sun (depending on geographic location which dictates the intensity of the sun). Like many Hoyas, the natural environment of an H. lacunosa includes its symbiotic relationship with ants that live amongst its roots (Burton, 25) and leaves. Because this hoya is an epiphyte it should be in well draining soil and be maintained at a consistent level of moisture (but not wet).
Leaves & Vines: One of the smaller-leaved Hoyas, H. lacunosa leaves are deep green and have an “uneven appearance” because the cavities in the leaves between the veins (Kloppenburg & Wayman, 25). It is a densely-growing, leafy, vine, but unlike so many of the Hoya genus, it does not twine on its own.
Blooms: Peduncles develop on the vine (and, unlike many other favorite Hoyas, the vines do not have to be mature for peduncles to develop) and often there are multiple peduncles on one vine. The peduncle holds approximately 20 tiny “hairy” blooms that are unusually round and flat – the petals (corollas) roll back (reflex). Blooms last less than a week and the wonderfully fresh and crisp scent (some on the DG Hoya forum have said that the blooms smell differently during the day and night – like carnations in the daytime and incense in the evening) lasts only about three days, which is fine because there is usually another set of blooms just opening… Oh, and the nectar tastes like sugar-water. Some literature posits blooming time from October through June, however, this blooming cycle may be mediated by geography (for example, mine has been blooming since late May).
Propagation: Seeds from follicles (formed on the peduncle), cuttings, division.
Medicinal Uses: Treatment of insect bits, wounds, and to reduce swelling
Technical Details: Classified in the Otostemma section. H. lacunosa, according to Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 232, is a low shrub that is epiphytic (not rooted in soil, often attached to other plants). It can climb to 1.5 meters (or, nearly 5 feet) using roots that develop on the vine (adventitious roots).
H. lacunosa leaves and stalks are smooth with no or few hairs (glabrous or sparsely pubescent). The leaf blade itself is a narrow oval shape (ovate-lanceolate) that is wedge-shaped (cuneat) or rounded at the stalk end, and pointed at the other end (an acute apex), and has two to four pairs of lateral veins that are not easily seen. H. lacunosa’s leaf dimensions: normally falling between 2-5 x 1.2-3cm (or, for us Americans, .79 – 1.97 inches long x .47 – 1.18 inches wide).
The sturdy H. lacunosa peduncle ranges in length from 2.5 – 7 cm (or, from just under one inch to just under three inches). The flower petals (corolla) are white with violet dots and are a mere 6 – 7 millimeters in diameter, the tube (which is the lower, round part of the corolla) is filled with shaggy, unmated hairs (villous). The corona (crown-like upper portion of the bloom) lobes are ovate (egg-shaped) and constricted at the middle. The pollen-bearing part of the stem (anther) extends beyond the stigma head (this is where the pollen is deposited for pollination). Finally, the follicles (narrow oval shape, pointed at both ends), once dry, split at one seam to release seeds.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/country_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT002320
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200018639
http://www.simones-hoyas.de/Hoya%20lacunosa.html
Burton, Christine M. Hoyas I Know and Love. Atlanta: J.R. Burden Associates, 1981.
Kloppenburg, Dale and Ann Wayman. The Hoya Handbook: A Guide for the Grower & Collector, 1992.
Rintz, R.E. The Malayan Nature Journal 30. November 1978.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Zachos, Ellen. Practical Uses of Various Hoya Species. Unpublished, 1997.
BRAVO BRAVO BRAVO!!!!!!
Terrifice job, Ann...really informative and well researched.
Hey, I see a Doctorate in your future.....
Thanks so much.
Carol
Great job, Ann!!!!
Very interesting reading and useful information.
Thank you!
Lotta
Thank you Ann! It's now in my printed file!
Great job Ann. I printed it out as well.
Lots of good info there. Well researched and put together.
Who would have thought you could use this hoya on your insect bites?
Marcy
Ann...did your info. say HOW it is used on insect bites???? as a poultice? rubbing the leaves?
Firstly, the common method for use of plants in the treatment of ailments is an extraction and concentating of that extract through the process of boiling it in water (decoction).
The Zachos piece referenced says the decoction of all parts of the H. lacunosa plant has been used, in China, for the following ailments:
Insect bites/poisonous fish stings
Pyoderma
Swellings
See, smells lovely, looks pretty, easy to take care of, AND can help keep us healthy. What a plant!
:-) Ann
Great job Ann. Thanks for all your time and research on this one.
MILAN>>>oh, MILAN -
Can we add this wonderful treatise to our sticky thread...to live on and on forever? so we can access it?....
Ditto on what Tam said!
Blessings,
Awanda
Awanda...MsKitty sorely needs a loaf of friendship bread for this one, doncha think?
Carol
Hey, that's my sticky thread, not Milans! And lacunosa has been added. Nice work, Ann!
Very nice job, Ann. Thanks.
Thanks so much everyone! It was actually really fun to do.
Ann
It occurs to me that no one has posted a picture. and so:
On checking out the Hoya of the month sticky thread, I am completely not suprised to find that people have selected the more common in cultivation Hoyas as subjects- for a very good reason: they are the best and most rewarding of the Hoya tribe to grow! Lacunosa, macgillivrayi, obscura, australis- these are among the most gratifying of the Hoyas in cultivation, and not at all coincidentally, they have the best fragrances. Perhaps someone will choose verticillata soon- this for me has the primordial Hoya smell. All the others have this as a base-note in their perfume. With the addition of cherry, chocolate, carnation, or gardenia you get australis, carnosa, lacunosa, or macgillivrayi.
OY Vey Mark...that is a LARGE can of worms....H. verticillata is such a large family (according to DL)...that every100 feet in the jungle and one comes across another hoya that turns out to be another clone of H. verticillata. It is so full of H. acutas, H. parasiticas, and a whole bunch of others...
YES and YES and YES... I would love to know more about it... And...it happens to be one of my favorites: the leaves are great (on all of them). They bloom violently and often, they smell great, the flowers have good lasting quality and they don't demand blood to live!!!
H. verticillata is one of my very favorites... Hey...maybe I will take it on... Ooooops, what did I just say?
How about adding a photo of the whole "family"?
Christina
(from the left: lacunosa, cv. Sunrise, obscura)
Very cool, Christina!! Thanks!
Those side by side bloom comparisons are perfect.
Ann
Thanks Ann! I think Lotta also has one with different lacunosa next to each other.
I blame the heat, but I guess I forgot to tell you that you did great writing about lacunosa! :-))
Christina
Hi Ann,
Great work....... really useful information. Thank you for researching all of this and posting it for our benefit.
Best wishes,
Matt
Thanks everyone!
Ann