| Hoya aldrichii | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | Hoya |
| Species: | H. aldrichii |
| Binomial name | |
| Hoya aldrichii Hemsl. | |
Hoya aldrichii, commonly known as Christmas Island waxvine, is a species of flowering plant in the Apocynaceae or dogbane family. It is a vine that is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean.
Description
Hoya aldrichii is a tall climber with glabrous stems and pale bark. The leaves are entire, elliptic, rounded at the base with a pointed tip, 75–150 mm (3.0–5.9 in) long and 35–60 mm (1.4–2.4 in) wide, on a petiole 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long. The flowers are arranged in umbels of 15–30, on a thicked peduncle 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) long, that increases in length each flowering season, each flower on a glabrous pedicel 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) long. The sepals are 2 mm (0.079 in) long and the petals are pink or white with lobes about 6 mm (0.24 in) long. The corona is pink or deep purplish-pink with star-shaped lobes 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long and about 1.5 mm (0.059 in) wide. The fruit is a glabrous follicle about 14 mm (0.55 in) long and 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) wide containing oblong seeds about 5 mm (0.20 in) long with a tuft of hairs 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) long on one end.
Taxonomy
Hoya aldrichii was first formally described in 1890 by William Hemsley in the Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany. The specific epithet honours Pelham Aldrich, commander of the survey vessel HMS Egeria, which visited Christmas Island in 1887.
Distribution and habitat
This species of Hoya is a common epiphyte in the shrublands of Christmas Island's coastal terraces.
References
- "Hoya aldrichii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ Barker, Robyn M. Kodela, Phillip G. (ed.). "Hoya aldrichii". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- "Hoya aldrichii". APNI. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- Hemsley, William H. (1890). "Report on the botanical collections from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, made by Captain J. P. Maclear, Mr. J. J. Lister, and the Officers of H.M.S. 'Egeria'". Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany. 25 (172): 355–356. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Hoya aldrichii | |