Red hot poker macro

This flower is only just opening. I've become interested in red hot pokers ever since our supposed 'red' one turned out to be yellow. A great disappointment. But since then, I've discovered that there are a number of different species within the genus Kniphofia, as well as numerous cultivars. They vary in colour and size, as well as leaf colour and shape, and in flowering time. We have recently acquired a winter-flowering variety from our neighbour. It has spectacular flowers, but ours hasn't flowered yet.

The genus originates in the Cape Province of South Africa, home of many interesting plants.