Native records: 8 botanical areas
China South-Central, Hainan, China Southeast, 5 more areas
See all areasNatural distribution
Explore mapNativeIntroducedUncertain
Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.
Last updated:
Distribution last verified:
An evergreen climbing epiphyte in the Apocynaceae (formerly Asclepiadaceae), native to East and Southeast Asia. Waxy, fleshy leaves and clusters of fragrant star-shaped flowers have made it one of the most widely cultivated houseplants in the world.
Description
A climbing epiphyte or lithophyte that ascends tree trunks and rock faces with adventitious roots. Leaves are opposite, fleshy, elliptic, 5–12 cm long, dark green and glossy. Flowers are star-shaped, 1.5–2 cm across, white to pale pink, with a characteristic corona at the centre; they are produced in pendulous umbels and emit a sweet fragrance, often dripping sticky nectar. As in other former Asclepiadaceae, pollen is aggregated into pollinia. Native to subtropical forests in East and Southeast Asia, where it grows on tree trunks and rocks in humid, frost-free sites. Widely grown as a houseplant for its foliage and flowers, tolerant of low indoor light and flowering reliably under cultivation.
Habitat
Native to subtropical East and Southeast Asia: southern China (South-Central, Southeast and Hainan), Laos, Japan (southern Kyushu and the Nansei-shoto / Ryukyu Islands), and Taiwan. An epiphyte or lithophyte on tree trunks and rocks in humid subtropical forest.
Distribution areas
Bangladesh
- BangladeshIntroduced
Bhutan
- East HimalayaUncertain
China
- China South-CentralNative
- China SoutheastNative
- HainanNative
Fiji
- FijiIntroduced
Hong Kong
- China SoutheastNative
India
- East HimalayaUncertain
Japan
- JapanNative
- Nansei-shotoNative
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
- KoreaIntroduced
Korea, Republic of
- KoreaIntroduced
Lao People's Democratic Republic
- LaosNative
Macao
- China SoutheastNative
Myanmar
- MyanmarNative
Papua New Guinea
- Solomon Is.Introduced
Solomon Islands
- Solomon Is.Introduced
Taiwan, Province of China
- China SoutheastNative
- TaiwanNative
Trinidad and Tobago
- Trinidad-TobagoIntroduced
Climate of the native range
The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.
- Cfa Temperate, no dry season, hot summer
- Am Tropical, monsoon
- Aw Tropical, savannah
- Cwa Temperate, dry winter, hot summer
- Dfb Cold, no dry season, warm summer
- Af Tropical, rainforest
- Cwb Temperate, dry winter, warm summer
- Cfb Temperate, no dry season, warm summer
- Dfa Cold, no dry season, hot summer
The same climate occurs in 225 areas worldwide, 212 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map
A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).
Recorded medicinal uses
The cited source records medicinal use of this plant. It is not an assessment of efficacy or safety.
Hoya carnosa is recorded as used medicinally.
Source location: p.356, left column, line 33
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species · Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) · CC BY 4.0 · source version: wcups-2020-62602715
Open source
Other names
Wax plant、Hindu rope plant、Porcelain flower、Waxflower
- Family
- Apocynaceae
- Genus
- Hoya
Other species in Hoya
Sources
World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Bangladesh · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Bhutan · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Fiji · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Hong Kong · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
India · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Japan · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Korea, Republic of · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Lao People's Democratic Republic · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Macao · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Myanmar · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Papua New Guinea · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Solomon Islands · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Trinidad and Tobago · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open sourceWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04
Taiwan, Province of China · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv
Open source
Image information
Photograph of Hoya carnosa
Yvan leduc · CC BY-SA 3.0 · File page