Kniphofia uvaria (L.) Oken
Red hot poker, torch lily, redhot poker
This stunning South African native is gradually becoming naturalized in California. They are members of the lily family. The genus Kniphofia is named for a German physician and botanist, Johann Hieronymus Kniphof.
Plants: 3–4′ (91–121 cm) in height, and are 2–3′ (60–91 cm) around. (There are many larger and smaller cultivars as well, such as ‘Nancy’s Red’.)
Leaves: Long and narrow, up to 2′ ⨉ 1″ (60 ⨉ 2.5 cm), like a tuft of large grass.
Flowers: Large oval-shaped flowerheads form on a stalk in the center of each plant. Unbelievably cool flowerheads are composed of hundreds of tubular flowers, red on top, grading through orange to yellow on the bottom. The flowers are favorites of hummingbirds.
Habitats: Damp slopes and marshy ground.
From Edwards’s Botanical Register; Consisting of Coloured Figures of Exotic Plants Cultivated in British Gardens; with their History and Mode of Treatment. London 21: t. 1745, as Tritoma burchellii. 
Online References:
6/1/2009 · Orderville Mine Rock Shop, Orderville, Utah 
6/27/2026 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine 
8/27/2007 · Shore Acres State Park, Cape Arago, Oregon 
2/16/2007 · San Diego Zoo Safari Park, San Diego, California 
6/27/2026 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Liliidae | Includes lilies, orchids, and many others |
| Order | Asparagales | A diverse group that includes asparagus |
| Family | Xanthorrhoeaceae | Aloes, many tropical plants, flax lilies, daylilies, many others |
| Genus | Kniphofia | Named after Johann Hieronymus Kniphof (1704-1763), a German botanist, professor of medicine and author of a work of botanical illustrations |
| Species | uvaria | From the Latin uva for a bunch of grapes |
Kniphofia uvaria description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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