Holliana
A miniature, pale-margined carnosa described with small leaves and gently waved edges.
Holliana’s original description and naming history, with later origin reports and the identity of modern plants kept distinct.
Overview
Holliana was established as a cultivar name in 2002 through Christine M. Burton’s account in The Hoyan, according to the Hoya cultivar registrar. Burton described it as resembling a miniature Variegata, with gently waved leaf margins. The registrar later credited Chuck Ebersole as originator and Jodie Shumaker as registrant and introducer. Those later details were not part of Burton’s original account, which left the source uncertain. The name alone does not establish the history of every plant sold as Holliana or Divan.
Related profiles: Variegata
Photo Gallery
No identity-, rights-, and profile-reviewed photographs are available yet.
Evidence-Based Growing Insights
No form-specific care conclusion has passed review. The parent Hoya page remains the source for shared information; generic advice is not repeated here.
What We Know
- Burton’s 2002 account describes a miniature Variegata-like plant with lightly waved leaf margins. In discussing earlier received material, she describes slight twisting rather than the fully folded leaves of Compacta. These are historical descriptions, not measurements that authenticate an untraced modern plant (printed pp.43–44).
- The registrar accepts Holliana and dates establishment of the name to the 2002 account and its cover sketch. The later registrar article was published in 2024; that is not Holliana’s establishment date.
- The registrar credits Chuck Ebersole as originator and Jodie Shumaker as registrant and introducer, and reports that the name honours Chuck’s daughter. It explicitly identifies these as later information and leaves much of the selection process unresolved. They should not be presented as details Burton established in 2002.
- The 2006 cultivar list records Burton’s opinion that Holliana and Divan were indistinguishable, alongside comparisons with other small-leaved labels. The registrar treats Divan as a synonym in its naming assessment. These historical comparisons do not document parentage or prove that all plants sold under the labels are one clone.
- Antone Jones’s archived account describes small leaves with pale margins and scalloped edges. He compared the flowers’ scent on his plant to fudge brownies. This is one keeper’s observation, rather than a standardized scent measurement or proof that every Holliana smells the same.
- Burton’s proposal to prune larger shoots to maintain miniature growth is expressly speculative. The one-inch leaf measurements in her anecdote concern a different, unlabelled miniature plant. They should not be used as Holliana’s size limits or as evidence that pruning will keep every plant small.
- The reviewed accounts do not provide a controlled Holliana-specific comparison of light, watering, substrate or humidity. The older growing recommendations remain attributed observations; shared species information stays on the parent carnosa page.
What We Are Still Learning
What records connect living Holliana plants to the material described in 2002?
What would help: Original labels, dated acquisition and transfer records, and propagation histories linking living accessions to early material.
How consistently is the miniature foliage retained through growth and propagation?
What would help: Repeated leaf, stem and flowering records from traceable plants and their cuttings under recorded conditions, including any larger shoots.
How do plants labelled Divan, Marlea or Convovulaceae relate to Holliana?
What would help: Original naming and nursery records plus comparisons of separately traceable material; resemblance alone is insufficient.
Can you provide a Holliana photograph the Library may display?
What would help: An original photograph, the exact plant label and known history, creator credit and explicit permission or a verifiable reuse license.
Common Misconceptions
- Holliana’s name was established in 2002 according to the registrar; the registrar’s 2024 article is a later account.
- A small, pale-margined carnosa is not automatically authenticated Holliana.
- The registrar’s treatment of Divan as a synonym does not authenticate every modern plant sold under either label.
- Burton’s same-cross suggestion and visual comparisons are not documented parentage or a genetic identity test.
- The pruning proposal does not demonstrate a reliable way to keep all Holliana plants miniature.
- One keeper’s scent comparison is not a universal fragrance guarantee.