Kniphofia caulescens

The blue-leaf poker or grey-leaved poker grows in the Drakensberg grassland from a thick rhizome. The growth habit is a dense, robust clump of short-stemmed rosettes reaching 1 m when in flower. The bluish grey or glaucous, strap-shaped leaves are channelled down the leaf centres. They grow tall, narrowing to their tips. 

The flowers grow in dense racemes at the top of long, sturdy scapes, that appear dark, reddish brown in this photo. The racemes have the typical red-hot poker look of dense, nodding flowers; orange-red in bud, pale yellow once open. The stamens of this species become well exserted, adding to the allure of the flowers.

The plant is popular with gardeners and easy to grow.  It thrives in well-drained soil rich in compost with neutral or slightly acid pH. They are adapted to quite cold winter climates, bearing in mind their distribution (Manning, 2009; Duncan, 2000).