Kniphofia Explained

Kniphofia (^[1]) is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. 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- long, while evergreen species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to 1.50NaN0 long. All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured.^[2] 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.^{[3] [4]}

1. Kniphofia acraea Codd - Cape Provinces of South Africa
2. Kniphofia albescens Codd - Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal
3. Kniphofia albomontana Baijnath - Lesotho, South Africa
4. Kniphofia angustifolia (Baker) Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
5. Kniphofia ankaratrensis Baker - Madagascar
6. Kniphofia baurii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
7. Kniphofia benguellensis Welw. ex Baker - Angola, Zambia
8. Kniphofia bequaertii De Wild. - Zaire, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda
9. Kniphofia brachystachya (Zahlbr.) Codd - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
10. Kniphofia breviflora Harv. ex Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Free State
11. Kniphofia bruceae (Codd) Codd - Cape Province
12. Kniphofia buchananii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal
13. Kniphofia caulescens Baker - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province, Free State
14. Kniphofia citrina Baker - Cape Province
15. Kniphofia coddiana Cufod. - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Province
16. Kniphofia coralligemma E.A.Bruce - Limpopo
17. Kniphofia crassifolia Baker - Limpopo
18. Kniphofia drepanophylla Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
19. Kniphofia dubia De Wild - Zaire, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola
20. Kniphofia ensifolia Baker - South Africa
21. Kniphofia × erythraeae Fiori - Eritrea (K. pumila × K. schimperi)
22. Kniphofia evansii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal
23. Kniphofia fibrosa Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
24. Kniphofia flammula Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
25. Kniphofia fluviatilis Codd - South Africa
26. Kniphofia foliosa Hochst. - Ethiopia
27. Kniphofia galpinii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Eswatini, Mpumalanga
28. Kniphofia goetzei Engl. - Tanzania
29. Kniphofia gracilis Harv. ex Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
30. Kniphofia grantii Baker - Zaire, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Malawi
31. Kniphofia hildebrandtii Cufod. - Ethiopia
32. Kniphofia hirsuta Codd - Lesotho, Cape Provinces
33. Kniphofia ichopensis Schinz - KwaZulu-Natal
34. Kniphofia insignis Rendle - Ethiopia
35. Kniphofia isoetifolia Hochst. - Ethiopia
36. Kniphofia latifolia Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
37. Kniphofia laxiflora Kunth - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
38. Kniphofia leucocephala Baijnath - KwaZulu-Natal
39. Kniphofia linearifolia Baker - Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa
40. Kniphofia littoralis Codd - KwaZulu-Natal
41. Kniphofia marungensis Lisowski & Wiland - Zaire
42. Kniphofia mulanjeana S.Blackmore - Mt. Mulanje in Malawi
43. Kniphofia multiflora J.M.Wood & M.S.Evans - Eswatini, South Africa
44. Kniphofia nana Marais - Zaire
45. Kniphofia northiae Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
46. Kniphofia nubigena Mildbr. - Sudan
47. Kniphofia pallidiflora Baker - Massif de l' Ankaratra in Madagascar
48. Kniphofia paludosa Engl - Elton Plateau in Tanzania
49. Kniphofia parviflora Kunth - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
50. Kniphofia pauciflora Baker - KwaZulu-Natal
51. Kniphofia porphyrantha Baker - Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa
52. Kniphofia × praecox Baker - Cape Provinces (K. bruceae × K. uvaria)
53. Kniphofia princeae (A.Berger) Marais - Zaire, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi
54. Kniphofia pumila (Aiton) Kunth - Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea
55. Kniphofia reflexa Hutch. ex Codd - Nigeria, Cameroon (endangered)^[5]
56. Kniphofia reynoldsii Codd - Tanzania, Zambia
57. Kniphofia rigidifolia E.A.Bruce - Mpumalanga
58. Kniphofia ritualis Codd - Free State, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal
59. Kniphofia rooperi (T.Moore) Lem. - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces
60. Kniphofia sarmentosa (Andrews) Kunth - Cape Provinces
61. Kniphofia schimperi Baker - Ethiopia, Eritrea
62. Kniphofia splendida E.A.Bruce - Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, northeastern South Africa, Eswatini
63. Kniphofia stricta Codd - Cape Provinces, Lesotho
64. Kniphofia sumarae Deflers - Ibb Mountains of Yemen
65. Kniphofia tabularis Marloth - Cape Provinces
66. Kniphofia thodei Baker - Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal
67. Kniphofia thomsonii Baker - Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia
68. Kniphofia triangularis Kunth - Lesotho, South Africa
69. Kniphofia typhoides Codd - Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga
70. Kniphofia tysonii Baker - KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Provinces, Eswatini
71. Kniphofia umbrina Codd - Eswatini
72. Kniphofia uvaria (L.) Oken - Cape Provinces; naturalized in Mexico, North Carolina, Spain, Oregon, Turkey, Washington State, St. Helena, California
73. 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:-^[6]

• 'Barton Fever' ^[7] (orange-white, 100 cm)
• 'Bees' Sunset' ^[8] (yellow, 90 cm)
• 'Brimstone' ^[9] (sulphur yellow, 90 cm)
• 'Buttercup' ^[10] (clear yellow, 75 cm)
• 'Coral Flame' ^[11] (coral red, 90 cm)
• 'Fiery Fred' ^[12] (orange, 130 cm)
• 'Incandesce' ^[13] (orange, 140 cm)
• 'Innocence' ^[14] (red-yellow, 110 cm)
• 'Jonathan' ^[15] (red-orange, 130 cm)
• 'Moonstone' ^[16] (yellow, 120 cm)
• 'Nobilis' ^[17] (evergreen, orange and yellow, 150 cm+)
• 'Penny Rockets' ^[18] (orange, 100 cm)
• 'Primrose Upward' ^[19] (yellow, 115 cm)
• 'Rich Echoes' ^[20] (orange-yellow, 120 cm)
• 'Royal Standard' ^[21] (red and yellow, 90 cm)
• 'Safranvogel' ^[22] (peach pink, 80 cm)
• 'Samuel's Sensation' ^[23] (red-yellow, 150 cm)
• 'Sunningdale Yellow' ^[24] (orange and yellow, 60 cm)
• 'Tawny King' ^[25] (cream/brown, 120 cm)
• 'Timothy' ^[26] (orange, 100 cm)
• 'Toffee Nosed' ^[27] (cream/brown, 100 cm)
• 'Wrexham Buttercup' ^[28] (yellow, 120 cm)

See also

• List of plants known as lily

Notes and References

1. Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
2. Book: RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants . . 2008 . 978-1405332965 . United Kingdom . 1136.
3. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=279713 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
4. Web site: A New Species of Kniphofia from Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda. 29 January 2019 . Novataxa . 11 February 2019.
5. Web site: Kniphofia reflexa . Redlist.org . 2012-05-13.
6. Web site: AGM Plants - Ornamental . July 2017 . 57 . Royal Horticultural Society . 14 March 2018.
7. Web site: Kniphofia 'Barton Fever' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
8. Web site: Kniphofia 'Bees' Sunset' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
9. Web site: Kniphofia 'Brimstone' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
10. Web site: Kniphofia 'Buttercup' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
11. Web site: Kniphofia 'Coral Flame' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
12. Web site: Kniphofia 'Fiery Fred' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
13. Web site: Kniphofia 'Incandesce' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
14. Web site: Kniphofia 'Innocence' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
15. Web site: Kniphofia 'Jonathan' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
16. Web site: Kniphofia 'Moonstone' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
17. Web site: Kniphofia 'Nobilis' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
18. Web site: Kniphofia 'Penny Rockets' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
19. Web site: Kniphofia 'Primrose Upward' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
20. Web site: Kniphofia 'Rich Echoes' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
21. Web site: Kniphofia 'Royal Standard' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
22. Web site: Kniphofia 'Safranvogel' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
23. Web site: Kniphofia 'Samuel's Sensation' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
24. Web site: Kniphofia 'Sunningdale Yellow' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
25. Web site: Kniphofia 'Tawny King' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
26. Web site: Kniphofia 'Timothy' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
27. Web site: Kniphofia 'Toffee Nosed' . RHS . 27 September 2020.
28. Web site: Kniphofia 'Wrexham Buttercup' . RHS . 27 September 2020.