The present work is a portrait of the striking plant Kniphofia Uvaria, commonly known as Red Hot Pokers. These are accompanied by a range of other wild British plants: Arum Maculatum, a poisonous berry known variously as Lords and Ladies, Arum Lily, Cuckoo Pint and Jack in the Pulpit; a red poppy and the six-headed seed pods of what looks to be a type of X.

They are connected both by their colour but also by the fact (which would certainly have been known to Morris) that each is a poisonous plant. The berries of the Arum Maculatum place this picture firmly in the autumn, when it is still warm enough for a poppy to flower and the X seed pods will soon explode open, scattering deep red coloured seeds onto the ground below.

The Red Hot Poker, also known as the Torch Lily is an exotic presence in British gardens, having originated in the Cape region of South Africa. It has been grown in British gardens since the 18th Century, and there are now almost 200 different varieties listed with the Royal Horticultural Society.