The red-hot poker, Kniphofia uvaria, is quite common on the Klein River Mountains, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it. For most of the year the plants are rather inconspicuous. The rosettes of tough, keeled leaves sit amongst the fynbos and look much like those of a sedge. It is only after fire that they really reveal themselves.
Within a few months of a burn, the flowering spikes begin to appear, often before much else has properly recovered. Bright heads of orange and yellow stand above the surrounding vegetation and can be seen from a distance.
At Phillipskop, the species appeared in seepages after our controlled burn on the lower slopes in 2021. A more recent fire in the Klein River Mountains in December 2025 (which did not reach Phillipskop itself, but the slopes to the west) similarly stimulated plants growing in damp ground just below the ridge to flower.
One of the interesting things about these plants is how variable they are, even within a relatively small area. On the lower slopes the plants tend to be taller, with more or less erect leaves reaching up to ±50 cm. Higher up, just below the ridge, the plants are more compact, with strongly arching leaves that curve down towards the ground. This variation reflects what is seen across the wider range of the species. Kniphofia uvaria occurs from the Western Cape into the Eastern Cape and shows considerable diversity in size, leaf form and flowerhead shape. On the Klein River Mountains, however, the plants all appear to share one characteristic — they respond strongly to fire. Elsewhere, plants may flower more regularly, but here flowering seems to be largely triggered by burning. The result is a flush of flowers in the open conditions that follow a fire, but next to none in subsequent years.
The flowers attract a range of visitors. Sunbirds are often associated with red-hot pokers, but on the upper slopes of the Klein River Mountains the Mountain Pride Butterfly (Aeropetes tulbaghia) is likely to be an important pollinator. Growing alongside the poker is another species that takes advantage of this relationship. Disa ferruginea is an orchid that produces no nectar. Instead, it relies on deception. Its flowers resemble those of nearby nectar-producing plants and attract the same pollinators. In some areas it mimics the deep red flowers of Tritoniopsis, but here, amongst the Kniphofia, it often has a more orange tone. This is not accidental. The colour variation in Disa ferruginea matches the preferences of its butterfly pollinator.
An unusual historical confusion links this species to another deceptive species. Early botanical accounts mistakenly attributed a foul smell to the flowers of Kniphofia uvaria, a characteristic it does not possess. The description properly belongs to the carrion flower, Orbea variegata — one of the more curious flowers of the Cape.
