Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering vegetation in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Chr. Fr. Echlon (1795-1868) and called after German botanist and doctor Friedrich Freese (1794-1878). It really is native to the eastern side of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most kinds being found in Cape Provinces. Types of the past genus Anomatheca are actually included in Freesia. The vegetation often called "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of lots of Freesia types. Some other types are also grown as ornamental plants.
They may be herbaceous plant life which develop from a conical corm 1-2.5 cm diameter, which directs up a tuft of narrow leaves 10-30 cm long, and a sparsely branched stem 10-40 cm large bearing a few leaves and a loose one-sided spike of plants with six tepals. Many species have fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped plants, although those previously located in the genus Anomatheca, such as F. laxa, have smooth flowers. Freesias are being used as food vegetation by the larvae of some Lepidoptera types including Large Yellowish Underwing.
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 varieties and the pink- and yellow-flowered forms of F. corymbosa. Modern tetraploid cultivars have blossoms which range from white to yellow, red, red and blue-mauve. They can be mostly cultivated expertly in the Netherlands by about 80 growers.[3] Freesias can be quickly increased from seed. Due to their specific and satisfying scent, they are generally used in hand ointments, shampoos, candles, etc.[citation needed], however, the bouquets are mainly utilized in wedding bouquets. They can be planted in the semester in USDA Hardiness Areas 9-10 (i.e. where the temperature will not fall below about -7 ?C (20 ?F)), and in the planting season in Areas 4-8.
Freesia laxa (formerly called Lapeirousia laxa or Anomatheca cruenta) is one of the other types of the genus which is commonly cultivated. Smaller than the scented freesia cultivars, it includes flat rather than cup-shaped blossoms. Extensive 'forcing' of this bulb occurs in two Moon Bay in California where several growers chill the lights in proprietary solutions to satisfy wintry dormancy which results in formation of buds within a predicted range of weeks - often 5 weeks at 55 ?F (13 ?C).
Herbaceous plant life (in botanical use frequently simply herbal remedies) are crops which have no prolonged woody stem above floor. Herbaceous vegetation may be annuals, biennials or perennials. Total annual herbaceous plants perish completely by the end of the growing season or when they have got flowered and fruited, and they then increase again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial vegetation may have stems that pass away by the end of the growing season, but elements of the plant endure under or near the bottom from season to season (for biennials, until the next growing season, when they blossom and die). New expansion evolves from living tissues staying on or under the ground, including origins, a caudex (a thickened part of the stem at ground level) or numerous kinds of underground stems, such as bulbs, corms, stolons, rhizomes and tubers. Examples 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 vegetation which have stems above floor that stay alive through the dormant season and develop shoots the next season from the above-ground parts - these include trees, shrubs and vines.