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Genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae
"Red hot poker" redirects here. For the implement, see
Fire iron .
Kniphofia (,
[2]
[3] ) is a
genus of
perennial
flowering plants in the
family
Asphodelaceae , first described as a genus in 1794.
[4] All species of Kniphofia are
native to
Africa . Common names include tritoma , red hot poker , torch lily and poker plant .
Description
The genus has
herbaceous and evergreen species. The herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves 10–100 cm (4–39 in) long, while
evergreen species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to 1.5 m (5 ft) long. All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured.
[5] The flowers produce copious nectar while blooming and are attractive to bees and
sunbirds . In the
New World , they may attract
nectarivores such as
hummingbirds and
New World orioles .
Etymology
The genus Kniphofia is named after
Johann Hieronymus Kniphof , an 18th-century German physician and botanist.
Species
There are about 73 described species, including two hybrids.
[1]
[6]
Kniphofia acraea Codd -
Cape Provinces of South Africa
Kniphofia albescens Codd -
Mpumalanga ,
KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia albomontana Baijnath -
Lesotho , South Africa
Kniphofia angustifolia (Baker) Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia ankaratrensis Baker - Madagascar
Kniphofia baurii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia benguellensis Welw. ex Baker -
Angola , Zambia
Kniphofia bequaertii De Wild. -
Zaire , Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda
Kniphofia brachystachya (Zahlbr.) Codd - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia breviflora Harv. ex Baker - KwaZulu-Natal,
Free State
Kniphofia bruceae (Codd) Codd - Cape Province
Kniphofia buchananii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia caulescens Baker - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province, Free State
Kniphofia citrina Baker - Cape Province
Kniphofia coddiana Cufod. - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
Kniphofia coralligemma E.A.Bruce -
Limpopo
Kniphofia crassifolia Baker - Limpopo
Kniphofia drepanophylla Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia dubia De Wild - Zaire, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola
Kniphofia ensifolia Baker - South Africa
Kniphofia × erythraeae Fiori -
Eritrea (K. pumila × K. schimperi )
Kniphofia evansii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia fibrosa Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia flammula Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia fluviatilis Codd - South Africa
Kniphofia foliosa Hochst. - Ethiopia
Kniphofia galpinii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini, Mpumalanga
Kniphofia goetzei Engl. - Tanzania
Kniphofia gracilis Harv. ex Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia grantii Baker - Zaire, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Malawi
Kniphofia hildebrandtii Cufod. - Ethiopia
Kniphofia hirsuta Codd - Lesotho, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia ichopensis Schinz - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia insignis Rendle - Ethiopia
Kniphofia isoetifolia Hochst. - Ethiopia
Kniphofia latifolia Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia laxiflora Kunth - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia leucocephala Baijnath - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia linearifolia Baker - Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa
Kniphofia littoralis Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia marungensis Lisowski & Wiland - Zaire
Kniphofia mulanjeana S.Blackmore -
Mt. Mulanje in Malawi
Kniphofia multiflora J.M.Wood & M.S.Evans - Eswatini, South Africa
Kniphofia nana Marais - Zaire
Kniphofia northiae Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia nubigena Mildbr. - Sudan
Kniphofia pallidiflora Baker - Massif de l'
Ankaratra in Madagascar
Kniphofia paludosa Engl -
Elton Plateau in Tanzania
Kniphofia parviflora Kunth - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia pauciflora Baker - KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia porphyrantha Baker - Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa
Kniphofia × praecox Baker - Cape Provinces (K. bruceae × K. uvaria )
Kniphofia princeae (A.Berger) Marais - Zaire, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi
Kniphofia pumila (Aiton) Kunth - Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea
Kniphofia reflexa Hutch. ex Codd - Nigeria, Cameroon (endangered)
[7]
Kniphofia reynoldsii Codd - Tanzania, Zambia
Kniphofia rigidifolia E.A.Bruce - Mpumalanga
Kniphofia ritualis Codd - Free State, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia rooperi (T.Moore) Lem. - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
Kniphofia sarmentosa (Andrews) Kunth - Cape Provinces
Kniphofia schimperi Baker - Ethiopia, Eritrea
Kniphofia splendida E.A.Bruce - Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, northeastern South Africa, Eswatini
Kniphofia stricta Codd - Cape Provinces, Lesotho
Kniphofia sumarae Deflers - Ibb Mountains of Yemen
Kniphofia tabularis Marloth - Cape Provinces
Kniphofia thodei Baker - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal
Kniphofia thomsonii Baker - Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia
Kniphofia triangularis Kunth - Lesotho, South Africa
Kniphofia typhoides Codd - Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga
Kniphofia tysonii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces, Eswatini
Kniphofia umbrina Codd - Eswatini
Kniphofia uvaria (L.) Oken - Cape Provinces; naturalized in Mexico, North Carolina, Spain, Oregon, Turkey, Washington State, St. Helena, California
Kniphofia vandeweghei Fischer & Ackermann - Rwanda
Cultivation
Several species of Kniphofia are cultivated as garden plants, valued for their architectural properties. These include K. galpini , K. northiae , K. rooperi and K. thomsonii .
In addition to the species, many named
cultivars of mixed or uncertain parentage have been selected for garden use. The following have gained the
Royal Horticultural Society 's
Award of Garden Merit :-
[8]
'Barton Fever'
[9] (orange-white, 100 cm)
'Bees' Sunset'
[10] (yellow, 90 cm)
'Brimstone'
[11] (sulphur yellow, 90 cm)
'Buttercup'
[12] (clear yellow, 75 cm)
'Coral Flame'
[13] (coral red, 90 cm)
'Fiery Fred'
[14] (orange, 130 cm)
'Incandesce'
[15] (orange, 140 cm)
'Innocence'
[16] (red-yellow, 110 cm)
'Jonathan'
[17] (red-orange, 130 cm)
'Moonstone'
[18] (yellow, 120 cm)
'Nobilis'
[19] (evergreen, orange and yellow, 150 cm+)
'Penny Rockets'
[20] (orange, 100 cm)
'Primrose Upward'
[21] (yellow, 115 cm)
'Rich Echoes'
[22] (orange-yellow, 120 cm)
'Royal Standard'
[23] (red and yellow, 90 cm)
'Safranvogel'
[24] (peach pink, 80 cm)
'Samuel's Sensation'
[25] (red-yellow, 150 cm)
'Sunningdale Yellow'
[26] (orange and yellow, 60 cm)
'Tawny King'
[27] (cream/brown, 120 cm)
'Timothy'
[28] (orange, 100 cm)
'Toffee Nosed'
[29] (cream/brown, 100 cm)
'Wrexham Buttercup'
[30] (yellow, 120 cm)
Gallery
See also
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Kniphofia .