Kniphofia Acraea

''Kniphofia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. Species are native to Africa. Common names include tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily and poker plant.

Description

Herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves long, while evergreen species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to long. All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured. 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.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
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# '' 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)
# ''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:-

*'Barton Fever' (orange-white, 100 cm)
*'Bees' Sunset' (yellow, 90 cm)
*'Brimstone' (sulphur yellow, 90 cm)
*'Buttercup' (clear yellow, 75 cm)
*'Coral Flame' (coral red, 90 cm)
*'Fiery Fred' (orange, 130 cm)
*'Incandesce' (orange, 140 cm)
*'Innocence' (red-yellow, 110 cm)
*'Jonathan' (red-orange, 130 cm)
*'Moonstone' (yellow, 120 cm)
*'Nobilis' (evergreen, orange and yellow, 150 cm+)
*'Penny Rockets' (orange, 100 cm)
*'Primrose Upward' (yellow, 115 cm)
*'Rich Echoes' (orange-yellow, 120 cm)
*'Royal Standard' (red and yellow, 90 cm)
*'Safranvogel' (peach pink, 80 cm)
*'Samuel's Sensation' (red-yellow, 150 cm)
*'Sunningdale Yellow' (orange and yellow, 60 cm)
*'Tawny King' (cream/brown, 120 cm)
*'Timothy' (orange, 100 cm)
*'Toffee Nosed' (cream/brown, 100 cm)
*'Wrexham Buttercup' (yellow, 120 cm)

Gallery

File:London MMB «J5 Canary Wharf - Kniphofia.jpg, ''Kniphofia'' planted near Canary Wharf in London
Image:Kniphofia 'Shenandoah' Flower 2112px.jpg, ''Kniphofia'' 'Shenandoah'
File:Kniphofia uvaria einzeln.JPG, ''Kniphofia uvaria''
File:Wildflower Area at Baxter Creek Gateway Park.jpg, ''Kniphofia'' along the Ohlone Greenway trail in El Cerrito, California
File:Terete raceme of Kniphofia with cross section of peduncle IMG 2082a.jpg, Terete raceme of ''Kniphofia'' shown together with a cross section of a peduncle. A: Inflorescence; B: Terete peduncle; C: Cross section of a terete peduncle

See also

* List of plants known as lily

References

External links

*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q157905

Asphodelaceae genera