When trying to figure out the sensible way to pronounce a botanical word, it helps a lot to know the etymology of the word. The name Kniphofia is based on a German name, Kniphof. The ph in this word is not the Greek letter phi; it simply results from having combined knip + hof. If you want to honor the eponym, pronounce both the k and the n and pronounce the p and the h separately - as Neil suggested in his "Swedish" pronunciation. I put "Swedish" in quotes because there are some of us who are not Swedish who pronounce it this way, too. In the English speaking world, or at any rate the ethnocentric, averse-to-other-languages ugly American world, it's generally pronounced ny-FOF-ee-a. Knife-oaf-ia is new to me - I think the second syllable says it all. Jim McKenney jimmckenney@jimmckenney.com Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, 39.03871º North, 77.09829º West, USDA zone 7, where in an old book I have the author, who was answering questions received from the gardening public, relates the story of the woman who complained that her ox Alice was not thriving. My Virtual Maryland Garden http://www.jimmckenney.com/ BLOG! http://mcwort.blogspot.com/ Webmaster Potomac Valley Chapter, NARGS Editor PVC Bulletin http://www.pvcnargs.org/ Webmaster Potomac Lily Society http://www.potomaclilysociety.org/