Fragrant freesia flowers.
- Freesias are a small flowering corm that have long, thin leaves up to 30 cm (12 inches) long that branch out from the base, and the flowers grow on a thin, green stem up to 40 cm (15.7 inches) in height.
- Freesias are native to Africa, mainly to South Africa, although a few species belong to areas further north.
- There are between 16 and 20 species of freesia, with more than 300 hybrids.
- Freesias are from the family Iridaceae, which is the family of irises.
- Freesias are named after the German physician, Friedrick Heinrich Theodor Freese from the 1800s.
- Freesia flowers have a strong soapy-scented perfume, and the scent is often mimicked in lotions, soap or other scented products.
- Freesia flowers typically have 5 to 10 funnel like flowers, although some species have flat flowers, and some have double petals.
- Freesia flowers can be white, gold, yellow, orange, red, pink, mauve, purple and lavender in colour and can also be two toned.
- Freesias bloom in spring and the plant usually dies back after flowering and setting seed.
- Freesias are a popular cut flower, and easy to grow, although some species have become a weed in some parts of Australia, due to the numerous seeds and corms they produce.
Bibliography:
Freesia, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freesia>
Freesia Flowers, 2013, The Flower Expert, <http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/mostpopularflowers/morepopularflowers/freesia>
