Freesia Pictures: freesia bouquet.jpg

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

They are really herbaceous vegetation which develop from a conical corm 1-2.5 cm diameter, which directs 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 flowers with six tepals. Many species have fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped blooms, although those formerly placed in the genus Anomatheca, such as F. laxa, have smooth flowers. Freesias are being used as food crops by the larvae of some Lepidoptera kinds including Large Yellowish Underwing.

CULTIVATION AND USES

The vegetation usually called "freesias" are derived from crosses manufactured in the 19th hundred years between F. refracta and F. leichtlinii. Numerous cultivars have been bred from these species and the red- and yellow-flowered varieties of F. corymbosa. Modern tetraploid cultivars have bouquets ranging from white to yellow, green, red and blue-mauve. They are mostly cultivated professionally in the Netherlands by about 80 growers.[3] Freesias can be conveniently increased from seed. Because of their specific and pleasing scent, they are generally used in palm products, shampoos, candles, etc.[citation needed], however, the plants are mainly utilized in wedding bouquets. They could be planted in the fall season in USDA Hardiness Areas 9-10 (i.e. where in fact the temperature does not fall season below about -7 ?C (20 ?F)), and in the planting season in Areas 4-8.

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

Herbaceous crops (in botanical use frequently simply herbs) are crops that contain no prolonged woody stem above earth. Herbaceous plants may be annuals, biennials or perennials. Annual herbaceous plants die completely at the end of the growing season or when they have flowered and fruited, plus they then increase again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plant life may have stems that die by the end of the growing season, but parts of the plant survive under or near the bottom from season to season (for biennials, before next growing season, when they flower and die). New expansion grows from living tissues staying on or under the bottom, including origins, a caudex (a thickened portion of the stem at ground level) 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. By contrast, non-herbaceous perennial plant life are woody plant life which have stems above surface that remain alive through the dormant season and increase shoots the next time from the above-ground parts - these include trees and shrubs, shrubs and vines.