Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennialflowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Christian Friedrich Ecklon and named after the German botanist and medical practitioner, Friedrich Freese. It is native to the eastern side of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most species being found in Cape Provinces. Species of the former genus Anomatheca are now included in Freesia. The plants commonly known as "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia species. Some other species are also grown as ornamental plants.
Description
They are herbaceous plants which grow from a conical corm diameter, which sends up a tuft of narrow leaves long, and a sparsely branched stem tall bearing a few leaves and a loose one-sided spike of flowers with six tepals. Many species have fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped flowers, although those formerly placed in the genus Anomatheca, such as F. laxa, have flat flowers. Freesias are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the large yellow underwing.
Freesia andersoniae L.Bolus - the Cape Provinces, Free State
Freesia caryophyllacea N.E.Br. - Heuningrug region in the Cape Provinces
Freesia corymbosa N.E.Br. - the Cape Provinces
Freesia fergusoniae L.Bolus - the Cape Provinces
Freesia fucata J.C.Manning & Goldblatt - Hoeks River Valley in the Cape Provinces
Freesia grandiflora Klatt - Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, northeastern South Africa
Freesia laxa Goldblatt & J.C.Manning - from Rwanda + Kenya south to the Cape Provinces; naturalized in Madeira, Mauritius, Réunion, Australia, Florida, Argentina
Freesia leichtlinii Klatt - the Cape Provinces; naturalized in Corsica, California, Florida, Argentina
Freesia marginata J.C.Manning & Goldblatt - the Cape Provinces
Freesia occidentalis L.Bolus - the Cape Provinces
Freesia praecox J.C.Manning & Goldblatt - the Cape Provinces
Freesia refracta Klatt - the Cape Provinces; naturalized in France, Canary Islands, Madeira, Bermuda, St. Helena
Freesia sparrmanii N.E.Br. - Langeberg in the Cape Provinces
Freesia speciosa L.Bolus - the Cape Provinces
Freesia verrucosa Goldblatt & J.C.Manning - the Cape Provinces
Freesia viridis Goldblatt & J.C.Manning - Namibia, the Cape Provinces
Species of the former genus Anomatheca are now included in Freesia:
Anomatheca xanthospila Ker Gawl. = Freesia caryophyllacea
Cultivation and uses
The plants usually called "freesias" are derived from crosses made in the 19th century between F. refracta and F. leichtlinii. Numerous cultivars have been bred from these species and the pink- and yellow-flowered forms of F. corymbosa. Moderntetraploid cultivars have flowers ranging from white to yellow, pink, red and blue-mauve. They are mostly cultivated professionally in the Netherlands by about 80 growers. Freesias can be readily increased from seed. Due to their specific and pleasing scent, they are often used in hand creams, shampoos, candles, etc.; however, the flowers themselves are mainly used in wedding bouquets. They can be planted in the fall in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-10, and in the spring in Zones 4–8. Freesia laxa is one of the other species of the genus which is commonly cultivated. Smaller than the scented freesia cultivars, it has flat rather than cup-shaped flowers. Extensive 'forcing' of this bulb occurs in Half Moon Bay in California where several growers chill the bulbs in proprietary methods to satisfy cold dormancy which results in formation of buds within a predicted number of weeks – often 5 weeks at.
