Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Habitat and
distribution
Kniphofia isoetifolia
Description
Habitat and
distribution
Fig. 62.
Kniphofia
isoetifolia,
from Semien
mountains,
Gonder floristic
region.
KNIPHOFIA 117
So far, the species is known from a relatively restricted
area in Shewa region, in wet grassland between 2000 and
3000 m. It is not known from anywhere else. The main
flowering period is from June to August.
4. Kniphofia isoetifolia Steudner ex Hochstetter
The specific epithet ‘isoetifolia’ refers to the leaves
(folia) being similar to the non-flowering plant Isoetes.
The species was described in 1844 from a plant collected
in Enchet Kab in the Gonder region by Schimper.
The species is clearly distingished from the other
species by the head-like (capitate) inflorescence. In
addition, it is one of the two species (the other is K.
pumila) that has the flowers opening from top downwards
(centrifugal).
Plants slender, usually solitary or sometimes in groups with 5–6
stems with few fibrous remains of leaves at the base. Roots fusiform.
Leaves 7–45 × 0.2–1.1 cm, linear, bluish green, keeled; keels and
margin papillate. Peduncle (including raceme) 9–65 cm long.
Raceme 4–8 cm long, at flowering, dense or subdense. Bracts white,
cuspidate, 7–12 × 1–2.5 mm. Perianth pale or bright yellow, orange
or bright red; pendulous, cylindrical, 30–42 mm long, widening at
the mouth and constricting at the base; perianth lobes 2.5–3 × 2–2.5
mm long. Pedicel slender 2–4 mm long, elongating up to 5 mm long
in fruit. Stamens and style only shortly exserted up to 3–4 mm long
and stamens eventually withdrawn.
The species grows on overgrazed hill tops and river
banks, on steep rocky slopes, and in montane grassland,
sometimes in wet mea dows between 2050 and 3480
(–3580) m. It is widespread in Ethiopia, but it is not