Freesia
| Freesia | ||||||||||||
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 Yellow and white freesias | ||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Species | ||||||||||||
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Freesia corymbosa (or F. refracta) Freesia laxa | ||||||||||||
| References | ||||||||||||
| ITIS 43291 2003-10-19 |
Freesia is a genus of flower belonging to the Iris family (Iridaceae), and containing two species.
The flower usually referred to as a freesia is the Common Freesia Freesia corymbosa, previously also classified as F. refracta. It is native to the Cape of Good Hope. The plants grow from a corm (a solid bulb, as in Gladiolus) which sends up a tuft of long narrow leaves and a slightly branched stem bearing a few leaves and loose one-sided spikes of fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped flowers. Several varieties are known in cultivation, differing in the color of the flower, which is white, cream or yellow. They form pretty greenhouse plants which are readily increased from seed.
The genus Freesia was previously regarded as monotypic. However, the False Freesia is now included within it as Freesia laxa. This plant was previously classified in either the genus Anomatheca or the genus Lapeirousia.