Freesia Pictures: American Friesian Association AFA

American Friesian Association AFA – iEquine

Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first referred to as a genus in 1866 by Chr. Fr. Echlon (1795-1868) and named after German botanist and doctor Friedrich Freese (1794-1878). It really is local to the eastern part of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most varieties being within Cape Provinces. Kinds of the ex - genus Anomatheca are now included in Freesia. The vegetation commonly known as "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped plants, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia kinds. Some other types are also grown up as ornamental crops.

They are really herbaceous plants which expand from a conical corm 1-2.5 cm size, which delivers up a tuft of slim leaves 10-30 cm long, and a sparsely branched stem 10-40 cm high bearing a few leaves and a loose one-sided spike of blooms with six tepals. Many species have fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped bouquets, although those formerly located in the genus Anomatheca, such as F. laxa, have toned flowers. Freesias are used as food vegetation by the larvae of some Lepidoptera varieties including Large Yellow Underwing.

CULTIVATION AND USES

The plants usually called "freesias" are derived from crosses manufactured in the 19th century between F. refracta and F. leichtlinii. Numerous cultivars have been bred from these varieties and the pink- and yellow-flowered forms of F. corymbosa. Modern tetraploid cultivars have flowers which range from white to yellow, green, red and blue-mauve. These are mostly cultivated properly in holland by about 80 growers.[3] Freesias can be immediately increased from seed. Because of their specific and attractive scent, they are generally used in palm creams, shampoos, candles, etc.[citation needed], however, the plants are mainly utilized in wedding bouquets. They could be planted in the show up in USDA Hardiness Areas 9-10 (i.e. where the temperature does not fall below about -7 ?C (20 ?F)), and in the spring and coil in Areas 4-8.

Freesia laxa (formerly called Lapeirousia laxa or Anomatheca cruenta) is one of the other varieties of the genus which is often cultivated. Smaller than the scented freesia cultivars, it offers flat alternatively than cup-shaped bouquets. Extensive 'forcing' of the bulb occurs in two Moon Bay in California where several growers chill the bulbs in proprietary methods to satisfy wintry dormancy which results in development of buds within the predicted variety of weeks - often 5 weeks at 55 ?F (13 ?C).

Herbaceous plants (in botanical use frequently simply herbal remedies) are plants which may have no continual woody stem above ground. Herbaceous plant life may be annuals, biennials or perennials. Annual herbaceous plants perish completely by the end of the growing season or when they may have flowered and fruited, and they then grow again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plants may have stems that die at the end of the growing season, but parts of the plant survive under or near to the ground from season to season (for biennials, until the next growing season, when they blossom and expire). New expansion evolves from living cells remaining on or under the ground, including root base, a caudex (a thickened part of the stem at walk out) or various types of underground stems, such as bulbs, corms, stolons, rhizomes and tubers. Types of herbaceous biennials include carrot, parsnip and common ragwort; herbaceous perennials include potato, peony, hosta, mint, most ferns and most grasses. In comparison, non-herbaceous perennial crops are woody plants that have stems above surface that continue to be alive during the dormant season and develop shoots the next 12 months from the above-ground parts - these include trees and shrubs, shrubs and vines.