Pokers of South Africa An expedition report by Christopher Whitehouse Contents Introduction and objectives •Kniphofia hirsuta Itinerary & map of route •Kniphofia ichopensis Karoo •Kniphofia laxiflora Fynbos •Kniphofia linearifolia Eastern Cape Grassland •Kniphofia multiflora Afromontane Forest •Kniphofia northiae Eastern Cape Drakensberg •Kniphofia parviflora Southern Drakensberg •Kniphofia pauciflora Coastal Kwazulu-Natal •Kniphofia porphyrantha Northern Drakensberg •Kniphofia rigidifolia Free State Escarpment •Kniphofia ritualis Mpumalanga Escarpment •Kniphofia splendida Species seen •Kniphofia stricta •Kniphofia albescens •Kniphofia triangularis •Kniphofia albomontana •Kniphofia tysonii •Kniphofia angustifolia •Kniphofia uvaria •Kniphofia baurii •Hybrids •Kniphofia breviflora Publicity •Kniphofia caulescens Achievements and difficulties •Kniphofia ensifolia Budget •Kniphofia evansii Acknowledgements •Kniphofia fluviatilis Bibliography •Kniphofia galpinii Appendix: List of flora •Kniphofia gracilis Appendix: List of animals Christopher on top of Mount Sutherland, Bushman’s Nek Introduction and objectives My research into Kniphofia began as long ago as 1996 while working at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew on the Flora of Tropical East Africa. I was asked to write up the account of Asphodelaceae and the most significant genus in the family for East Africa was Kniphofia. I was fortunate to visit Tanzania the following year, where I saw many of the tropical African species in their natural habitat which was valuable in interpreting the herbarium material that I was studying. My interest was reignited in 2007 when the Royal Horticultural Society began a trial of Kniphofia to assess the cultivars and species in cultivation for the Award of Garden Merit. This trial showcased 120 entries, of which 16 were considered to be species. It was evident from the trial that several of these so-called species were wrongly named; either the wrong species or showing evidence of hybrid nature. On account of this, I realised that my own knowledge of the species was far from complete and so the idea began of organising an expedition to see the species in the wild. The objectives for my expedition were as follows: 1. To find as many species as I could in the wild, preferably in flower. This would give me an understanding of the habitat requirements of the species, thus enabling me to convert this into knowledge of the best requirements for the plants in cultivation. 2. To observe different populations of those species, so that I could see the variation encompassed by the species. Very often only a single clone of a species is cultivated, so that when new introductions occur people believe it cannot be the same species. By observing the natural variation of a species, one can understand whether the variation in cultivation belongs to that species or is caused by hybridization. 3. To look for occurrences of natural hybrids. It is known that Kniphofia hybridize readily in cultivation but only a few hybrids are reportedly naturally. I was keen to find out if this was genuinely the case or just under-reported. It would also help me to understand how species hybridize with each other and how characters are shared in hybrids. 4. To build contact with other Kniphofia experts. Although I had had some contact with Dr Ramdhani and Dr Baijnath regarding Kniphofia in the past, I was keen to establish stronger links with these experts in the genus. While these were the immediate objectives of the expedition, I have a longer term goal to produce a book on Kniphofia in cultivation. Kniphofia have never been treated properly as a garden plant. In the past, only short articles have been produced on the genus from a horticultural perspective. While I will leave the revision of the South African species to the experts in that country, it will be important to have a chapter in the book highlighting the species that occur in cultivation. It is hoped that this expedition will form the basis of that chapter. Route of expedition starting at Johannesburg, overnight locations indicated by green circles. Inset: Car on descent from Naude’s Nek near Rhodes Itinerary My time in South Africa was limited to three weeks on account of work and family commitments, which led to a punishing schedule. The trip covered almost 5,500km of driving and was based upon driving to a locality known for Kniphofia, spending a day exploring the area, then moving on the next day. The routes taken in between were chosen to increase the chance of seeing more populations on the way. However, as the distances were often great, the deviation from the most direct route was often kept to the minimal. 23 January 2012 – 14 February 2012 Jan 23 – Leave Heathrow Airport Jan 24 – Johannesburg airport to Colesberg, Kuilfontein Farm 661km Jan 25 – Kuilfontein Farm, Colesberg 7km Jan 26 – Colesberg to Joubertina 545km Jan 27 – Joubertina to Hogsback, King’s Lodge 445km Jan 28 – Gaika’s Kop & Tor Doone, Hogsback 28km Jan 29 – Hogsback to Rhodes, Walkerbouts Inn 429km Jan 30 – Tiffindell & Ben McDhui 48km Jan 31 – Rhodes to Bushman’s Nek, Elton Farm 408km Feb 1 – Mount Sutherland 0km Feb 2 – Bushman’s Nek to Durban 371km Feb 3 – Durban & the Botanic Gardens 164km Feb 4 – Durban to Highmoor, Heronmoor Retreat 232km Feb 5 – Highmoor 42km Feb 6 – Highmoor to Cathedral Peak, Didima Camp 144km Feb 7 – Cathedral Peak 0km Feb 8 – Cathedral Peak to Oliviershoek, Dumbe 119km Feb 9 – Dumbe 131km Feb 10 – Oliviershoek to Buffelskloof Private Nature Reserve 529km Feb 11 – Lydenburg area 212km Feb 12 – Piet Retief area 588km Feb 13 – Buffelskloof Private Nature Reserve to Johannesburg airport 354km Feb 14 – Arrive Heathrow Airport The following pages summarise my trip based upon habitat types or biogeographic areas that I covered in my visit. More details on the Kniphofia found in these areas follow under the particular species. Top: View over Kuilfontein Farm near Colesberg; Bottom left: A few ferns such as this Cheilanthes eckloniana can survive in this arid climate; Bottom right: Ammocharis coranica by the road down to the Langkloof Karoo (Colesberg, Kuilfontein Farm) Following an eight hour drive straight after getting off the plane, my first stop was in the Great Karoo at Kuilfontein Farm. Karoo is a harsh landscape, generally flat but with small koppies (rocky hills) dotted around to break up the monotony. It is arid and what rain falls is not particularly seasonal. The vegetation is on the whole a low-growing shrubby flora, interspersed with succulents and annuals, which flower after sufficient rain. Despite its flatness, there is variation in the vegetation based upon underlying soil type, and moisture. The koppies provide protection from grazing animals as well as shade from the rocks. The few larger shrubs which grow here also provide similar qualities so that other plants grow up in their protection. My exploration of the Karoo was focussed on finding a population of K. ensifolia. In this area the species was restricted to the seepage areas beside a stream that ran through the farm. This was also the best area for other flowers, as several small herbaceous or bulbous plants were flowering here too, e.g. Lobelia and Sebaea. In the normal karoo, flowers were few – occasionally a member of the Aizoaceae. However, around rocky outcrops, the larger shrubs Map of Kuilfontein Farm and route increased and amongst them succulent and herbaceous perennials covered such as Asparagus, Crassula and even Dianthus. Although I had a full day to explore the farm, this was my first day after landing, and clear blue skies and high temperatures meant that I spent the middle of the day sheltering from the heat, using only the morning and evening cooler times to look around. Most of the journey was through the Karoo as I headed south the next day. From the height of Lootsberg Pass down towards Willowmore, the vegetation was still low-growing and shrubby but the composition changed considerably. It was also interesting to see how patchy the flowering of the Karoo was. Where there had been sufficient rainfall recently, there were a number of interesting flowers such as Bulbine, Ammocharis, Hermannia and Sarcocaulon, but other areas looked as barren as the drier parts of Colesberg. Kniphofia seen: K. ensifolia subsp. ensifolia Prince Alfred’s Pass and Outeniqua Mountains; Insets: two key elements of fynbos are ericas and proteas, on this pass represented by Erica densifolia and Protea mundii Fynbos (Langkloof between Joubertina and Humansdorp) The Western Cape border of the Langkloof represented the start of my expedition in earnest (Colesberg had just been a convenient stopping point on my way south). The fynbos habitat is the pride of the Western Cape and responsible for a large proportion of the amazing diversity found within the Cape Flora Kingdom. It is a fire-dependent habitat, fires sweeping through every 5 to 50 years. The shrubby flora has adapted to this regime, as has most of the herbaceous flora. Indeed, many of the geophytic plants only flower well after fire. This is the case for some forms of Kniphofia uvaria, although fortunately the plants I found still had a few spikes. The fynbos is the habitat I am most familiar with, having spent almost 5 years exploring it for my PhD on Cliffortia (Rosaceae). The diversity of the fynbos diminishes as one heads east, so the part I explored around the Langkloof has fewer endemics than similar areas to the west. It nevertheless has the usual components of Ericaceae, Proteaceae and Restionaceae, which define fynbos. Some of the best areas I saw on this trip were the wetter fynbos of the Kareedouw and Prince Alfred Passes. However, I did not spend long in any of these places as Kniphofia are generally rare and Route through the Langkloof from scattered in the fynbos – in all my years exploring the fynbos, I only Joubertina found Kniphofia on a couple of occasions.