Five new Hoya species have been named after the Museum and its curators in three separate issues of Hoya New, an online publication (ISSN 2329-7336) dedicated to the Genus Hoya.
Hoyas, commonly known as wax plants, belong to the Apocynaceae family. It is an evergreen perennial creeper or vine that rarely shrubs, with waxy texture and with milky latex-like sap. There are more than 100 recorded species of Hoya in the Philipines as of last year, 25 of which are endemic.
The new species namely H. histora, lambioae, litii, leticiae and edwinofernandoi have already been added to the International Plant Name Index by Robert Dale Kloppenburg, a research agronomist and Hoya taxonomist.
Hoya histora Kloppenburg was named after the UPLB Museum of Natural History in January 2015. The species holotype (CAHUP Holotype #5292) was collected in the UP Land Grant in Real, Quezon.
Hoya lambioae Kloppenburg, Guevarra, Cajano, & Carandang was named in April 2015 after Prof. Ivy Amor F. Lambio, Curator at the Botanical Herbarium, who collected this new species (CAHUP Holotype #71847) at Mudspring in Mt. Makiling, Laguna in May 2011.
The last three new species have been formally named in Hoya New’s December 2015 issue.
Hoya litii Kloppenburg, Siar, & Cajano (CAHUP Holotype #72240) has been named after Dr. Ireneo L. Lit, Jr., curator of the MNH Entomological Collection who also served as Director of the Museum from 01 March 2006 to 21 February 2015. The species was collected from Mt. Mayon in Albay.
Meanwhile, the species Hoya leticiae Kloppenburg, Cajano & Hadsall (CAHUP Holotype #72342) has been named after Dr. Leticia E. Afuang, a curator of the MNH Zoological and Wildlife Collection. H. leticiae was collected in Nakar, Quezon.Lastly, Hoya edwinofernandoi Kloppenburg, Cajano & Hadsall (CAHUP Holotype #72239) also collected from Nakar, Quezon was dedicated to Dr. Edwino S. Fernando, Curator of the UPLB MNH Forestry Herbarium.