Kniphofia pauciflora Baker (1885:280)
Racecourse lilly, Dainty poker, Few-flowered poker, umathunga (isiZulu)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonyms: Kniphophia pauciflora Baker in J. Bot. 23: 280 (1885) (orth. error used by Humphreys et al., 2019:Supplementary Dataset 1); Kniphofia pedicellata Baker in Bull. Herb. Boissier, sér. 2, 4: 998 (1904)
Conservation Status
Last record: ?
Rediscovered in: 1968 (Hlongwane, 2025)
Last wild record: mid-1990's (Carnie, 2011)
Rediscovered in the wild in: 2003 (Carnie, 2011)
Formerly considered Extinct in the Wild, with plants in propagation, it was rediscovered at Clairwood Racecourse in 2003 (Carnie, 2011).
Distribution & Habitat
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Baker, J. G. (1892). Kniphofia pauciflora. Gardeners’ Chronicle ser 3(12): 65, t. 10.
Other references:
Baijnath, H. (1992). Kniphofia leucocephala (Asphodelaceae): a new white-flowered red-hot poker from South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 58(6): 482-485.
Baijnath, H. (2004). Red (and yellow) hot pokers. The Conservatory 3: 24-28.
Baijnath, H. and Ramdhani, S. (2014). Lectotypification of Kniphofia pauciflora Baker (Asphodelaceae: Asphodeloideae). Bothalia 44(1) Art. #151.
Carnie, Tony. (2011, November 21). The race is on to protect rare Durban bloom. Mercury (news). Available at: https://iol.co.za/mercury/news/2011-11-21-the-race-is-on-to-protect-rare-durban-bloom/ [Accessed 25 July 2025]
Codd, L. E. (1968). The South African species of Kniphofia. Bothalia 9: 363-513.
Codd, L. E. (1989). Kniphofia pauciflora. Flowering Plants of Africa 50(2):t.1995.
Codd, L. E. (2005). Asphodelaceae (First part): Kniphofia. In: G. Germishuizen and B.A. Momberg (eds). Flora of southern Africa 5 Part 1, Fascicle 2:1-91. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Codd, L. E. W. (1969). The South African species of Kniphofia (Liliaceae). Bothalia 9:363-513.
Germishuizen, G. and Meyer, N. L. (eds.). (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Hall, A. V., De Winter, M., De Winter, B. and Van Oosterhout, S. A. M. (1980). Threatened plants of southern Africa. South African National Scienctific Programmes Report 45. CSIR, Pretoria.
Hilton-Taylor, Craig. (1996). Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Hlongwane, Ndumiso. (2025). Kniphofia pauciflora Baker (plants of the week). PlantZAfrica. Available at: https://pza.sanbi.org/kniphofia-pauciflora [Accessed 25 July 2025]
Humphreys, Aelys M., Govaerts, Rafaël, Ficinski, Sarah Z., Lughadha, Eimear Nic and Vorontsova, Maria S. (2019). Global dataset shows geography and life form predict modern plant extinction and rediscovery. Nature Ecology & Evolution 3: 1043-1047. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0906-2 [Supplementary Dataset 1]
Maharaj, S. (2017). Green lung to logistics park: a critical assessment of the rezoning of the Clairwood Racecourse. Master of Science Thesis, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.
POWO. (2025). Plants of the World Online (online resource). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/ [Accessed 25 July 2025]
Raimondo, D., von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J. E., Helme, N. A., Turner, R. C., Kamundi, D. A. and Manyama, P. A. (2009). Red List of South African Plants. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Ramdhani, S. (2006). Evolutionary and biogeographic studies in the genus Kniphofia Moench (Asphodelaceae). Doctoral dissertation. Rhodes University, Grahamstown.
Scott-Shaw, C. R. (1999). Rare and threatened plants of KwaZulu-Natal and neighbouring regions. KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service, Pietermaritzburg.
Scott-Shaw, C. R., Johnson, I. M. and von Staden, L. (2007). Kniphofia pauciflora Baker. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2017.1. Accessed on 2017/06/07.
Walter, Kerry S. and Gillett, Harriet J. (eds.). (1998). 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. Compiled by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Gland, Switzerland & Cambridge, UK: IUCN – The World Conservation Union. lxiv + 862 pp.
Whitehouse, C. (2016). Kniphofia; The complete guide: 1-440. Royal Horticultural Society.
http://www.prime-perennials.co.uk/plants_k.htm