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I'm aftaid that the photos will be a little anticlimatic for Hoya Pubicalyx Nigrum 'Black Dragon' GKMP-8008B. I was hoping for darker blooms, but we have to realize that this bloom happened under relatively low light conditions. The plant has not seen sunshine in almost 2 months, and lives in a zippered tent in a basement. In all liklihood, with stronger light the blooms could be almost black. It is still a very unusual pubicalyx in that the leaves are completely lime green with no hint of a speckle or other coloration. The blooms could also darken a little with age. I will post a photo if they do. The White Dragon may be the more interesting of the two as that would seem even stranger to find that type of clone in the wild, or selectively develop that kind of cultivar. Any how, here are the photos. The color rendition is close, but they may be a little darker gray to see in person.
Those flowers are still pretty dark - if not black! Very few plants have really black flowers.
They are still very pretty! I think the contrast with those leaves is stunning!
Nice growing Doug.
A beauty for sure. I agree that the contrast of the light green plain leaves and that flower is stunning. With all the variation in the flowers of that species, I am sure we will see a lot of different color blooms on this one as well. Some may be darker than others. That one is very dark I would say, and nice for a first time bloom.
Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you everyone! I think I will try to send the gentleman from Forest Treasures (I think his name is George Mendoza) an email and ask him how theses "Dragons" came to be.
Love it Doug, but you know it doesn't look the same as the picture on Forest Treasure - which is why I bought it. And yes his name is George Mendoza. Wonder if the different growing conditions would make this much of a difference. Here is a picture of George's in case you haven't seen it. I love the pubicalys's and they bloom freely at least for me.
I know that it does not look nearly as dark as George Mendoza's photo, and I attribute that to the much lower light conditions that mine is forced to grow under. We will see when someone else blooms this plant in the sun if it looks more like his photo. Even if it does not, it is an outstanding plant!
Speaking of George Mendoza, he was kind enough to answer my email about the origins of the plants, and here is his reply: The H. pubicalyx "Black Dragon" is not a hybrid. It was collected along the shorelines hanging on a cliff in western part of Luzon Island here in the Philippines. It has it's counter part the "White Dragon" soon to be name H. celata. I'm glad to know that you like the "Black Dragon".
That also confirmed my suspicions about the "White Dragon." I could not see how a true pubicalyx could have a snow white flower, and now it looks like it might not really be a pubicalyx after all. The leaves sure do look similar to "Black Dragon" though.
