> Hoya macrophylla vs Hoya latifolia – Plant Daddy YQG
Hoya macrophylla vs Hoya latifolia

Apocynaceae, Hoya, Taxonomy -

Hoya macrophylla vs Hoya latifolia

This is, honestly, my favourite thing about plants: diving headfirst into weird taxonomy things.

You'll often see people refer to these plants with both names, with either name interchangeably, or as "Hoya latifolia (formerly macrophylla)" -- so what's the deal? Are they the same species, and which name is correct?

Here's what happened.

Two different scientists named two different, but extremely similar, hoya species "Hoya macrophylla" (meaning big-leaved) around the same time, not realizing what happened. When someone finally realized that they were two different species, the second one was renamed latifolia (also meaning big-leaved).

Some sites I've found have misleadingly said "Hoya latifolia (formerly macrophylla)" -- while this is TECHNICALLY correct, IF it's an H. latifolia, both species are found in cultivation, and it MAY be a true H. macrophylla.
Apparently, the only real way to tell the difference is their inflorescence -- so I have no idea which one I have... And, likely, neither do you!

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