Freesia Pictures: Alize ~ Lies fan Bommelsteyn Friesian

Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plant life in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Chr. Fr. Echlon (1795-1868) and known as after German botanist and doctor Friedrich Freese (1794-1878). It really is indigenous to the eastern aspect of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most kinds being found in Cape Provinces. Types of the former genus Anomatheca are now contained in Freesia. The vegetation commonly known as "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped blossoms, are cultivated hybrids of lots of Freesia types. Some other kinds are also grown up as ornamental crops.

They may be herbaceous plant life which grow from a conical corm 1-2.5 cm diameter, which sends up a tuft of small 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 varieties have fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped flowers, although those formerly 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 varieties including Large Yellow Underwing.

CULTIVATION AND USES

The vegetation 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 red- and yellow-flowered kinds of F. corymbosa. Modern tetraploid cultivars have bouquets which range from white to yellowish, green, red and blue-mauve. They can be mostly cultivated properly in holland by about 80 growers.[3] Freesias can be easily increased from seed. Because of the specific and satisfying scent, they are generally used in hands creams, shampoos, candles, etc.[citation needed], however, the bouquets are mainly used in wedding bouquets. They could be planted in the street to redemption in USDA Hardiness Areas 9-10 (i.e. where the temperature does not fall below about -7 ?C (20 ?F)), and in the springtime in Zones 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, they have flat alternatively than cup-shaped plants. Extensive 'forcing' of the bulb occurs in Half Moon Bay in California where several growers chill the lights in proprietary methods to satisfy cold dormancy which results in formation of buds within the predicted quantity of weeks - often 5 weeks at 55 ?F (13 ?C).

Herbaceous plant life (in botanical use frequently simply herbs) are plant life that contain no consistent woody stem above earth. Herbaceous plant life may be annuals, biennials or perennials. Total annual herbaceous plants die completely by the end of the growing season or when they have got flowered and fruited, plus they then grow again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plant life may have stems that die at the end of the growing season, but parts of the plant endure under or close to the bottom from season to season (for biennials, before next growing season, when they blossom and perish). New expansion advances from living tissues left over on or under the ground, including root base, a caudex (a thickened portion of the stem at walk out) or various types of underground stems, such as light 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 & most grasses. In comparison, non-herbaceous perennial plant life are woody plants which have stems above earth that continue to be alive during the dormant season and develop shoots the next time from the above-ground parts - included in these are trees, shrubs and vines.