Torch lilies

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Torch lilies
Grape torch lily (Kniphofia uvaria)

Grape torch lily ( Kniphofia uvaria )

Systematics
Class : Bedecktsamer (Magnoliopsida)
Monocots
Order : Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family : Grass trees (Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Subfamily : Affodilla family (Asphodeloideae)
Genre : Torch lilies
Scientific name
Kniphofia
Monk

The torch lilies ( Kniphofia ), also known as rocket flowers, are a genus of plants in the subfamily of the Affodil family (Asphodelaceae), with around 70 species. The botanical genus name honors the Erfurt botany professor Johann Hieronymus Kniphof (1704–1765). Some species are used as ornamental plants in parks and gardens.

description

Torch lilies are perennial, herbaceous plants that reach heights of 80 to 160 centimeters. They are clump-forming, most species are evergreen, there are winter-hardy species and varieties. They form horizontal rhizomes as permanent organs. The leaves are arranged in a basal rosette or more or less in two rows on the stem. The simple leaves are mostly keeled. The leaf margin is smooth or serrated.

The racemose inflorescences are very high in some species. The flower stalks are usually short, in some species they lengthen until the fruits ripen. In many species the upper flowers are intensely red and the further down they are in the inflorescence, the more the colors change to yellow; sometimes some of the flowers are white or green. In many species the flowers are hanging. The hermaphrodite flowers are threefold. The two by three different polymorphic bloom are more or less deformed bell-like to a funnel. There are two circles with three stamens each; they are at most as long as the bracts, with the inner being longer than the outer. Three carpels have become an ovary grown. The stylus ends in a tiny, head-shaped scar. The capsule fruit is spherical to ovoid. The egg-shaped seeds are triangular to winged.

Occurrence

The approximately 70 species of torch lily are native to Africa , mainly in eastern and southern Africa (47 of them in the Republic of South Africa ). There is only one species each in Madagascar and on the southern Arabian Peninsula .

Kniphofia brachystachya
Kniphofia caulescens
Kniphofia pauciflora
Kniphofia thomsonii
Kniphofia triangularis
Kniphofia uvaria
Kniphofia uvaria

Systematics

The first description by Conrad Moench was published in 1794. There are the following synonyms for Kniphofia Moench : Notosceptrum Benth. , Rudolphoroemeria Steud. ex Hochst. , Triclissa Salisb. , Tritoma Ker Gawl. , Tritomanthe Link .

The genus Kniphofia includes the following species:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Conrad Moench: Methodus plantas horti botanici et agri Marburgensis . Volume 2, 1794, pp. 631-632 ( online ).
  2. ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Kniphofia. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved July 26, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Torch Lilies ( Kniphofia )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files