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Kniphofia

{{short description|Genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae}}

{{Redirect|Red hot poker|the implement|Fire iron}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Kniphofia uvaria (Xanthorrhoeaceae) (4576236590).jpg

|image_caption = Kniphofia uvaria

|taxon = Kniphofia

|authority = Moench

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms =

  • Notosceptrum Benth.
  • Rudolpho-roemeria Steud. ex Hochst.
  • Triclissa Salisb.
  • Triocles Salisb.
  • Tritoma Ker Gawl.
  • Tritomanthe Link
  • Tritomium Link

}}

Kniphofia ({{IPAc-en|n|ɪ|p|ˈ|h|oʊ|f|i|ə}},Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607 {{IPAc-en|n|ɪ|ˈ|f|oʊ|f|i|ə}}{{Cite LPD|3}}) is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794.{{citation |last=Stevens |first=P.F. |title=Angiosperm Phylogeny Website: Asparagales: Asphodeloideae |url=http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/orders/asparagalesweb.htm#Asphodelaceae }} All species of Kniphofia are native to Africa. Common names include tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily and poker plant.

Description

{{Unreferenced section|date=February 2025}}

The genus has herbaceous and evergreen species. The herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves {{convert|10|-|100|cm|0|abbr=on}} long, while evergreen species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} long. All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly coloured flowers well above the foliage, in shades of red, orange and yellow, often bicoloured.{{cite book |title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants |publisher=Dorling Kindersley |year=2008 |isbn=978-1405332965 |location=United Kingdom |pages=1136}} 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.

Taxonomy

The genus Kniphofia was first erected by Conrad Moench in 1794.{{IPNI|taxon=Kniphofia |authority=Moench|id=331220-2|access-date=2025-02-21|mode=cs1}} Moench considered the species he was describing (now Kniphofia uvaria) sufficiently different from Carl Linnaeus's genus Aletris and from Veltheimia to warrant a new genus.{{Cite book |last1=Moench |first1=Carl |date=1794 |contribution=Kniphofia |title=Methodus Plantas Horti Botanici et Agri Marburgensis |pages=631–632 |publication-place=Marburgh |contribution-url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/449262 |access-date=2025-02-21 |language=la}} The name honours Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, an 18th-century German physician and botanist.{{Cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=A.T. |last2=Smith |first2=H.A. |year=1972 |title=Plant Names Simplified : Their Pronunciation Derivation & Meaning |publication-place=Buckenhill, Herefordshire |publisher=Landsmans Bookshop |isbn=978-0-900513-04-6 |name-list-style=amp }} p. 59.

=Species=

{{As of|2025|February}}, Plants of the World Online accepted 73 species, including two hybrids.{{Cite POWO|title=Kniphofia Moench|id=331220-2|access-date=2025-02-21|mode=cs1}}

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:-{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 57 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 14 March 2018}}

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  • 'Barton Fever' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/175166/Kniphofia-Barton-Fever/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Barton Fever' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (orange-white, 100 cm)
  • 'Bees' Sunset' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/70316/Kniphofia-Bees-Sunset/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Bees' Sunset' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (yellow, 90 cm)
  • 'Brimstone' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/77224/Kniphofia-Brimstone-Bloom/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Brimstone' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (sulphur yellow, 90 cm)
  • 'Buttercup' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/85050/Kniphofia-Buttercup/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Buttercup' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (clear yellow, 75 cm)
  • 'Coral Flame' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/259061/Kniphofia-Coral-Flame/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Coral Flame' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (coral red, 90 cm)
  • 'Fiery Fred' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/86184/Kniphofia-Fiery-Fred/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Fiery Fred' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (orange, 130 cm)
  • 'Incandesce' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/247935/Kniphofia-Incandesce/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Incandesce' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (orange, 140 cm)
  • 'Innocence' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/43954/Kniphofia-Innocence/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Innocence' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (red-yellow, 110 cm)
  • 'Jonathan' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/282667/Kniphofia-Jonathan/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Jonathan' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (red-orange, 130 cm)
  • 'Moonstone' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/247937/Kniphofia-Moonstone/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Moonstone' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (yellow, 120 cm)
  • 'Nobilis' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/82335/Kniphofia-Nobilis/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Nobilis' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (evergreen, orange and yellow, 150 cm+)
  • 'Penny Rockets' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/259070/Kniphofia-Penny-Rockets/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Penny Rockets' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (orange, 100 cm)
  • 'Primrose Upward' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/304578/Kniphofia-Primrose-Upward/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Primrose Upward' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (yellow, 115 cm)
  • 'Rich Echoes' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/240666/Kniphofia-Rich-Echoes/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Rich Echoes' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (orange-yellow, 120 cm)
  • 'Royal Standard' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/91489/Kniphofia-Royal-Standard/Details| title = Kniphofia 'Royal Standard' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (red and yellow, 90 cm)
  • 'Safranvogel' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/104391/Kniphofia-Safranvogel/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Safranvogel' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (peach pink, 80 cm)
  • 'Samuel's Sensation' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/59931/Kniphofia-Samuel-s-Sensation-Samuel/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Samuel's Sensation' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (red-yellow, 150 cm)
  • 'Sunningdale Yellow' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/98075/Kniphofia-Sunningdale-Yellow/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Sunningdale Yellow' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (orange and yellow, 60 cm)
  • 'Tawny King' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/115125/Kniphofia-Tawny-King/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Tawny King' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (cream/brown, 120 cm)
  • 'Timothy' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/51397/Kniphofia-Timothy/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Timothy' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (orange, 100 cm)
  • 'Toffee Nosed' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/98471/Kniphofia-Toffee-Nosed/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Toffee Nosed' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (cream/brown, 100 cm)
  • 'Wrexham Buttercup' {{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/82865/Kniphofia-Wrexham-Buttercup/Details | title = Kniphofia 'Wrexham Buttercup' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 27 September 2020}} (yellow, 120 cm)

{{div col end}}

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

References

{{reflist}}

External links

{{Commons}}

  • {{AfricanPlants|Kniphofia}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q157905}}

Category:Asphodelaceae genera

Category:Taxa named by Conrad Moench

Category:Flora of the Afrotropical realm