''Hoya kerrii'', also referred to colloquially as Hoya hearts, is a species of ''
Hoya Hoya may refer to:
Places
*Hoya, Germany, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany
*County of Hoya, a former state in present Germany
* Hoya, Tokyo, now incorporated within Nishi-tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
* Hoya, Hpruso, a place in Hpruso Township, Kayah, Myanma ...
'' native to the south-east of Asia. Its eponymous collector is
Arthur Francis George Kerr, Irish physician and botanist.
As the thick leaves are heart-shaped, the plant is sometimes named "lucky-heart". In Europe, it is sold for
Saint Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
.
Its origin area is
South China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
,
Vietnam,
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
,
Cambodia,
Thailand and the Indonesian island of
Java.
Description
''Hoya kerrii'' is a climbing plant that can grow up to 4 meters high (around 13 feet). Stems have a diameter of 7 mm. The leaves are 6 cm wide, 5 mm thick.
Adult plants show
inflorescences of 5 cm diameter and up to 25 flowers. They produce small balls of nectar, coloured red to brown. They smell only faintly or not at all.
Taxonomy
A specimen was collected by
Arthur Francis George Kerr 1910 in or 1911 in the
Doi Suthep mountains west of
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
(Northern Thailand) at an altitude of 390 m above sea level. It was transplanted to
Kew Gardens where it flowered in August 1911, and the species was first described by
William Grant Craib from that plant and the wild collections in 1911.
[ pages 418–419]
Culture as houseplant
It can be difficult to find a fully vined ''Hoya kerri'' at a reasonable price. Garden centres and large box stores often stock ''Hoya kerrii'' as a single leaf cutting. The cutting's heart shape makes it a popular purchase for
Valentine's day. The leaf readily roots and remains a planted heart for many months if not years. These are largely considered novelty items as very few single leaf cuttings develop into mature plants. In order for a leaf cutting to sprout a vine, part of the stem and a node is required from the mother plant. Even if a stem and node are present, it can take several years before new growth is observed.
File:Small Hoya kerrii D1302a.jpg, Young plant, unchanged over 2 years
File:Small Hoya kerrii D1409.jpg, After 20 months of growth
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q292176
kerrii
Taxa named by William Grant Craib