What is "kniphofia"

n. Any of several plants, of the genus (taxlink Kniphofia genus noshow=1), having bright, upright flowers

n. a plant of the genus Kniphofia having long grasslike leaves and tall scapes of red or yellow drooping flowers [syn: tritoma, flame flower, flame-flower, flameflower]

Kniphofia , also called tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily, knofflers or poker plant, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. It is native to Africa. Herbaceous species and hybrids have narrow, grass-like leaves long, while perennial species have broader, strap-shaped foliage up to long. All plants produce spikes of upright, brightly colored 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. In the New World they may attract sap-suckers such as hummingbirds and New World orioles.

The Kniphofia genus is named after Johann Hieronymus Kniphof, an 18th-century German physician and botanist.