Its name is Hoya. This unique and exquisite plant resembles a star. The flowers are gathered in a semicircle and hang in striking colours.
Hoya is one in all the native plants of Indonesia. It will also be present in other countries, especially in tropical Southeast Asia. Hoya is commonly used as a decorative plant. Its creeping growth makes it look more attractive when hung.
There are 200–300 species of Hoya on this planet, of which 50–60 are present in Indonesia, including Hoya archboldiana, H. australis, H. cinnamomifolia, H. kerriiAND H. imbricata.
The name Hoya was given by the Scottish botanist Robert Brown in honor of his friend Thomas Hoya. Brown discovered Hoya during his 1798 expedition to Asia and Australia and included the name Hoya in his book “Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen”.
Benefits of Hoya flowers
Hoya was first used as a natural medicine and later became a decorative plant in Europe within the 18th century and within the United States within the nineteenth century. Its distribution includes India, Indochina, China, Malaysia, Polynesia and tropical Australia. Hoya is used for various ailments, reminiscent of wounds, skin diseases, cough, asthma and as a tonic for ladies after childbirth.
In Indonesia, Hoya is used for abdominal pain, cough, toothache, venereal diseases and as an antidote to poisons. Hoya also serves as a pollution absorber and an attractive ornamental plant. Hoya lacunosa it could even be utilized in cosmetic products to rejuvenate and brighten the skin.
Other Hoya species reminiscent of H. purpureofusca, H. latifoliaAND H. verticillatathey’re utilized in traditional ceremonies in Bali and as home decorations in Kalimantan. Coronaria Hoya it’s used as a vegetable in Maluku and West Kalimantan.
Hoya has a high economic value, with prices reaching IDR 500,000 per seedling and IDR 4 million per pot within the local market and IDR 1.4 million per seedling within the international market.
