Hoya australis Tonga
A cultivated label documented for a large-leaved form with large flowers in a 2007 grower article.
This profile follows the cultivated material documented under the Tonga label. The label alone does not establish a formal botanical rank, collection locality or the identity of every plant sold under it.
Overview
Hoya australis Tonga is a documented cultivated selection. In his 2007 Fraterna article, Mark Randal describes it as a large-leaved form with large flowers and records that Ted Green sold it. The article also reports the label ‘H. ssp. tonga’. This profile retains Tonga as a cultivated label; Kew’s Plants of the World Online does not list it among the accepted subspecies of Hoya australis.
Photo Gallery
No identity-, rights-, and profile-reviewed photographs are available yet.
What We Know
- Randal describes Tonga as large-leaved and large-flowered. His short account supplies no measurements or controlled comparison with other australis selections.
- The 2007 article records sale by Ted Green. This documents the label in cultivation by that date, but does not establish who first collected, selected or named the plant.
- The article’s reported ‘H. ssp. tonga’ label is historical usage. Kew’s current list of accepted Hoya australis subspecies does not include Tonga.
What We Are Still Learning
What original records establish the history of the cultivated Tonga material?
What would help: Dated collection notes, original labels, accession records, nursery catalogues or correspondence identifying its source and who introduced or named it.
Which plants sold as Tonga can be connected to the documented selection?
What would help: Supplier and propagation histories, accession identifiers, and leaf and flower photographs tied to the same plant. Comparative studies should report measurements, methods and growing conditions.
Research and Sources
Help answer this profile’s questions
Do you have early Tonga labels, Ted Green nursery records or a traceable accession? Dated catalogues, correspondence, propagation histories and photographs of the same plant could help establish its history and clarify which cultivated material the label represents.
Contribute evidence for this profile