Kniphofias are often confused with aloes, the essential difference between these genera is that kniphofias have long, dull, slender leaves compared to the thick, fleshy leaves of aloes.

Kniphofia ichopensis is a slender, grass-like plant that grows about 1 m high. The leaves are soft, and erect or curving near the apex. Each plant gives rise to of 6 to 8 leaves which are 500-800 mm long and 5-10 mm broad. It has an oblong-cylindrical inflorescence, about 100-300 mm long and 60-70 mm wide. Flowers are tubular, long and narrow, and vary in colour from a creamy-white to a coral pink. Flowering is in midsummer, from January to March. Fruits are 6 mm long with a pellet-like shape.

There are two recognised varieties: the typical variety ichopensis (described above) and var. aciformis, the needle-leaved poker, which can be distinguished by its very narrow leaves, about 1 mm in diameter, produced in dense tufts of 20 to 30 leaves, surrounded at the base by fibrous leaf sheaths, and it tends to flower a bit earlier, in November, than the typical variety.