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Hoya carnosa

Hoya carnosa

9.8
A climbing plant with thick leaves and pink and white star-shaped flowers
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Hoya carnosa
  • The Hoya carnosa in her living room bloomed with clusters of fragrant, waxy flowers last spring.

Examples

  • He misted his Hoya carnosa weekly to maintain the humidity it needs to thrive.

  • I bought a beautiful Hoya carnosa for my living room.

  • Because of its thick leaves and beautiful flowers, Hoya carnosa is a popular choice for indoor gardening.

  • The Hoya carnosa blooms in the summer.

  • Because of its thick leaves and beautiful flowers, Hoya carnosa is a popular choice for indoor gardening.

  • He misted his Hoya carnosa weekly to maintain the humidity it needs to thrive.

  • The Hoya carnosa in her living room bloomed with clusters of fragrant, waxy flowers last spring.

Synonyms

wax plant
vsHoya carnosa
6.7

A climbing plant with thick, shiny leaves and clusters of pink and white star-shaped flowers

is the specific wild species noted for umbels of pink and white star flowers

Surface Forms

Hoya carnosa singular
Hoya carnosas plural

Morphology

Hoya + carnosa

This is a scientific Latin binomial rather than a compositional English phrase: 'Hoya' is a genus name and 'carnosa' is a Latin epithet (not a common English word), so the plant meaning is not derivable from the constituents by a B1 learner. Understanding it requires botanical or Latin knowledge rather than knowledge of ordinary English vocabulary, so it is unpredictable for learners.

Etymology

Hoya carnosa comes from two parts: Hoya honors an English gardener named Thomas Hoy, and carnosa is Latin for 'fleshy', a clear image of the plant's thick, waxy leaves. So the name helps you remember a climbing plant with juicy-looking leaves and star-shaped flowers.