Leaves that naturally drop don't usually root, and even if it was a bumped-off leaf, rooted leaves rarely produce a plant. On the other hand, it's hard to miss a seed pod - not the pod itself, but when they burst, they're like a dandelion... fluff and seeds. But then if the pod dropped into the pot and onto the soil and THEN it burst, it's possible she wouldn't notice. So yes, I suppose it could be a hybrid. Do the leaves differ in any way from the carnosa?

Denise in Omaha

Wow!! I love it!!

The leaves look the same as the carnosa.

Light intensity and temperature variations can affect flower color, especially in the carnosa and pubicalyx species.

Your mom's looks like a Hoya carnosa that gets plenty of high light...even the leaves have a reddish tinge to them.

Those are normal flowering carnosas. Pretty, when they display that coloration, but nothing special.

The ANGLE of the sun in the sky, which is both seasonal AND location-based, also plays a very important part in the intensity of light and different light spectrums. It's not always about "shade" or "partial sun" or "full sun". Some spectrums are more intense than others, and can permeate shade, and with the angle of the Sun right now, in Aus., being Spring, more of those different spectrums are "bent" such that even under a shaded carport, those rays are hitting the plant.

Keep in mind that there are many different carnosa varieties, and some are more inclined to produce different colored flowers than others. Even on the SAME plant, you can get almost pure white flowers on one peduncle, then on another, you can get light to deep pink buds and blooms.

Any leaf that successfully roots and produces a new plant is an exact clone of the plant the leaf dropped from, so you are not going to get a new hybrid with new characteristics from it.

Seed pods, like Denise mentioned, are very hard to miss. They take awhile to mature, are very long, and are not shaped like anything else on the plant (in other words, they don't really blend in with foliage or buds). When the pods open, you cannot miss all the fuzz flying around! The pods open gradually, as well, so the seeds aren't released all at once, unless it's very windy. Unless the pod fell off right before opening, there is a slim chance you would have missed it.

Ok thank you very much, so it's just a carnosa doing something odd. Thank you everyone for your comments.

Well, you are lucky to have that "odd" carnosa! Again, I'm in love with those flowers!

I also love the flowers - so interesting!