Hoya obcordata

Unrooted cutting of Hoya obcordata.
Three to five nodes.

Hoya obcordata is a charming small-leaved Hoya known for its rounded to slightly heart-shaped foliage and delicate appearance.

The leaves are small, firm, and typically rounded to oval, with the leaf base varying from rounded to distinctly obcordate. This variation in leaf shape is actually part of an interesting recent development in the plant's taxonomy.

Hoya obcordata was originally published by Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1883 from material collected in Sikkim. In 2025, a new taxonomic study examined the original Hoya obcordata specimens together with newly collected plants and concluded that Hoya obcordata falls within the natural variation of Hoya nummularia. Hoya obcordata is therefore currently treated as a synonym of Hoya nummularia by Kew.

Hoya nummularia is native from the eastern Himalaya through parts of southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. The species is characterized by small rounded leaves and small, softly hairy flowers produced in compact clusters.

Because Hoya obcordata remains the name widely used for this plant in horticultural collections, we continue to include it in our listing while noting its current botanical treatment.

Name commonly used in cultivation: Hoya obcordata
Currently accepted botanical name: Hoya nummularia Decne. ex Hook.f.
Hoya obcordata first published: 1883
Native range of accepted species: Eastern Himalaya to Yunnan and mainland Southeast Asia
Notable features: Petite rounded foliage with variable rounded-to-obcordate leaf bases

Please note that leaf size and shape may vary naturally as the plant grows and under different growing conditions.

A note about this plant: Species-level and taxonomic information above is based on published botanical records, including a 2025 taxonomic revision. Our plant was obtained and has been maintained in cultivation under the name Hoya obcordata. We do not have original wild-collection or provenance documentation for our particular plant and cannot independently confirm or deny its relationship to the specimens examined in the published taxonomic work.