Kniphofia ritualis

    Kniphofia ritualis
    Author: Ivan Lätti
    Photographer: Judd Kirkel Welwitch

    Kniphofia ritualis, the Lesotho poker or leloele in Southern Sotho, is a perennial reaching 80 cm in height when flowering. 

    The species distribution is in Lesotho and adjacent higher altitude parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and the Eastern Cape.

    The habitat is damp, montane, summer rainfall grassland, in shallow soil on rock at elevations from 1800 m to 3000 m. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century.

    This is a good garden plant, suited to well-drained, sunny positions, requiring average to ample watering. The plant is semi-deciduous. It attracts birds during both the flowering and fruiting phases. Plant parts also form part of traditional medicine (Manning, 2009; Pooley, 1998; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).

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