OK! This discusion is going on the epiforums.com. I made the comment that they are one in the same but then found a file on the google waxplant forum on Hoya wayettii but nothing on Hoya kentiana. Are they the same or different? Ann W? Carol? Anyone? I appriciate your time. Thanks, -joanne
H. wayetii vs kentiana
Joanne, my understanding is that H. kentiana, H. wayetii, and H. sp. aff. angustifolia are very closely related and visually similar but not the same. I know H. angustifolia is not a valid name for the plant we're talking about, and I believe there is some uncertainty about the name H. kentiana, but that's perhaps not the point here.
H. wayetii is a really attractive plant with thick leaves about 1/2" wide, concave on top with dark green or purplish margins on the leaf in bright light, and all pinkish-purple flowers. H. sp. aff. angustifolia is featured on the cover of David Liddles latest catalog, and appears to have more narrow leaves and a bright yellow corona center. H. kentiana I have never seen, but I believe the leaves are slightly different from the other two and the flowers are supposed to be all pinky-purple. I am guessing that it looks more like H. sp. aff. angustifolia than like H. wayetii, form the written descriptions I have seen. The leaves of all three of these will vary in size and porportion according to cultural conditions.
The picture is of H. wayetii, which has nice compact growth with short internodes. The leaf margins are more purple for me in summer.
Mark, thank you for answering! I appriciate your time and the length of your reply. I emailed an expert who was kind enough to reply, just as you did. He said basicaly the same thing and also that there would be more study in the future. Ultimately, for the novice collector like me, they are so similar that I don't need them all. I can be happy with the "H. kentiana/wayetii" that is so easy to find. I have purchased several from a shop in Eugen they called "H. kentiana". I have also passed it on to other forum members named that way. EA sells 8" pots of one too.
Thanks again for taking the time! God bless. -joanne
I posed the same question to DL who assured me H. weyettii and H. kentiana are different.
Carol
Joanne, there are a lot of groups of Hoyas that are really similar. There are a lot in the H. pottsii complex that look alike and many acanthostemmas like the ones we were talking about that all have small leaves and small pink-purple flowers that look a lot alike. There are a lot of yellow flowered ones like H. ischnopus, H.montana, H. flavescens, H. dimorpha that all look very similar except for minor leaf differences and variations in flower color. Knowing the sections helps avoid buying a lot of plants that look alike, smell alike, grow alike. I am thinking of writing a piece on Hoya sections for the next Stemma. Sections are poorly understood, and they need more work as they are a bit messy, but they helped me a lot to understand how much diversity there is in the genus Hoya.