It flowers a lot now, mostly up high though.

Also, it seems to prefer the shadier side of the tree, both for growth and flowering.

It's still in the original pot which has been root bound for a few years. The the stems are attached to the tree by numerous other roots with some running down into the ground.

Basically I "leave well enough alone". But here the Green Tree Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) are trying to build a nest out of the leaves. They climb onto one another to reach across to another leaf then draw them in and 'stitch' them together. They only like green leaves so when those they used die, they go through the process all over again with fresh leaves.

The plant's got so high up into the tree that's the only ladder I've got that comes anywhere close to the top of the vine (although, it's still not tall enough). I'm thinking of putting a few other Hoyas on the same tree and getting a variety of flowers.

That is just so neat. The ants working on the leaves make me feel itchy. Thanks for sharing this.
~ Mary

That is seriously so impressive.

Great photos. The photo of the ants is especially interesting, hope they don't bite.
I think one of the large leafed Hoya species would look great on the tree, as a contrast to the pubicalyx.

Mike

Wow, thanks so much for sharing this TB. Those are some amazing photos. It has to be so great to live where you can let them grow in trees! I'm so envious I could spit! LOL! I guess Hoyas are sometimes ant-plants, too. Very cool!

Denise in Omaha

I hope its ok to post my photo of the hoya I found while up in the hills of bali so Amanda could go zip lining around the jungle.
This hoya was growing on a lot of the trees on the sunny side of the tree.

A closer look of the leaves.

Thanks for all the comments. The ants weren't able to bring those leaves together, they're too rigid and they gave up. They're very territorial and aggresive but I don't mind as they keep a lot of pests out of the garden.

I do have some large leafed Hoyas that would go well in that tree with the pubicalyx. In the coming wet season I'll start some cuttings and place them there.

Interesting photo of the Hoya in Bali (not far from here). Do you know which species? Don't know the species that come from there. It has a good climate for them, always warm and humid.

I was out walking today in the bush and found a lot of Hoya growing naturally on a rock face on the steep side of a valley. There were no flowers, but I'm sure this one is H. australis ssp australis.

TB I was just in cairns and saw a lot of H. australis growing all over the place.It was nice seeing them growing in the wild.

Cindy those are some great photos. I bet you saw quite a few interesting plants on our trip. I suspect that the plant in your photos is a Dischidia sp and not a Hoya. Did you pick up a copy of a botanical field guide to Bali by any chance?

Mike

Cpawl, I've never been sure which of the australis sub species is near Cairns. Mossman Gorge is another good place not far from Cairns to find Hoya. I've found H. pottsii there previously. Did you get to the Flecker Botanic Gardens? It's a great place to visit. I'll be up there the week after next, be doing some walking up onto Mt Bartle Frere. Should be a lot of interesting things up there.

TB,no I saw a lot of rigida up near near mossman gorge when I took the train up to the top.
Mike, no I did not get a chance to get one.

The train goes up to Kuranda, there's some nice walks around there.

I didn't know H. rigida grew in that area, I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

Yup, your right about mossman. I forgot what day I did what.I did see rigida in both places while out walking.

I checked out the plants in the two photos immediately above. They're actually a Piper species, closely related to the pepper vine. If the leaves are crushed they have a peppery smell. The leaves of Hoyas when crushed give out a white latex/sap, which this one doesn't. Also, Hoya rigida apparently comes from Thailand.

To me the plant looks like Hoya nicholsoniae. Were any of the Piper sp flowering? I don't know much about Piper sp but would it be Piper hederaceum? I just expected Piper sp to have alternate leaves. It is hard from the photos to see how the leaves are arranged or where the old leaf scars are.
I wonder what the thick green stem in the bottom photo is, maybe Epipremnum pinnatum?

Mike

The plant checklists for the area only give H. australis and H. pottsii. But the plant in the photos is very common throughout. I have a habit of breaking leaves on things that resemble Hoya to test for the sap. This one doesn't have the sap, and I've checked with other people in the area who have an interest in rainforest plants. It does seem to be Piper hederaceum, and there are some varieties in that species.

Piper have alternate leaves and Hoya have opposite. However, I did have a H. australis put out alternate leaves on one stem for a while. I posted photos of it on another site at the time.

I'd agree that the thick green stem on the tree is Epipremnum pinnatum, it's also very common throughout that region. There are a number of Rhaphidophora as well but they don't seem so common.

Hoya with alternate leaves.

There are Hoyas with clear or amber coloured sap but if memory serves me correctly Hoya pottsii does have milky sap. Interesting photo you have attached. Plants certainly always keep you thinking.
I have always loved the Rhaphidophora species but never seen one available in the horticultural trade here in Canada. The shingling varieties or immature forms are so very cool. You really do live in a fascinating country.

Mike

Seeing we got onto the subject of Rhaphidophora, this is a photo I took of R. pachyphylla just today.

That's fantastic. Is this plant in the wild or have you transplanted some to your garden? Some of the large and heavily divided mature forms are very impressive but I guess those are probably seen up in the canopy vs near the ground.
Thanks for posting this.

Mike

It was in the Townsville Palmetum, basically a botanic garden that concentrates on palms. But they have lots of other plants as well. There were 3 very large trees with this species all over the trunks and right up into the canopy. I see it quite often in the rainforests too though not as commonly as Piper species. Have some photos buried away somewhere, this one was the easiest to pull out. I intend to "relocate" some to my garden some time soon ;O)

There was a Hoya on one of their trees but I couldn't recognise it (not flowering). But it wasn't an australis or potsii. Probably an exotic.