South Africa Plant Life The Freesia alba

Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plant life 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 local to the eastern part of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most kinds being within Cape Provinces. Kinds of the former genus Anomatheca are now contained in Freesia. The vegetation often called "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia species. Some other types are also cultivated as ornamental vegetation.

They can be herbaceous vegetation which grow from a conical corm 1-2.5 cm diameter, which delivers up a tuft of slim leaves 10-30 cm long, and a sparsely branched stem 10-40 cm tall bearing a few leaves and a loose one-sided spike of bouquets with six tepals. Many types have fragrant narrowly funnel-shaped bouquets, although those formerly put in the genus Anomatheca, such as F. laxa, have level flowers. Freesias are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Large Yellowish Underwing.

CULTIVATION AND USES

The plant life usually called "freesias" derive from crosses manufactured in the 19th hundred years between F. refracta and F. leichtlinii. Numerous cultivars have been bred from these varieties and the green- and yellow-flowered varieties of F. corymbosa. Modern tetraploid cultivars have bouquets ranging from white to yellowish, pink, red and blue-mauve. They may be mostly cultivated skillfully in the Netherlands by about 80 growers.[3] Freesias can be conveniently increased from seed. Because of the specific and satisfying scent, they are generally used in hands creams, shampoos, candles, etc.[citation needed], however, the blossoms are mainly used in wedding bouquets. They can be planted in the street to redemption in USDA Hardiness Areas 9-10 (i.e. where in fact the temperature will not land below about -7 ?C (20 ?F)), and in the springtime in Areas 4-8.

Freesia laxa (previously 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, they have flat somewhat than cup-shaped blooms. Extensive 'forcing' of this bulb occurs in Half Moon Bay in California where several growers chill the light bulbs in proprietary solutions to satisfy chilly dormancy which results in development of buds in just a predicted volume of weeks - often 5 weeks at 55 ?F (13 ?C).

Herbaceous vegetation (in botanical use frequently simply herbs) are plants that have no consistent woody stem above floor. Herbaceous plant life may be annuals, biennials or perennials. Annual herbaceous plants perish completely at the end of the growing season or when they have flowered and fruited, and they then develop 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 make it through under or close to the bottom from season to season (for biennials, until the next growing season, when they rose and pass away). New progress evolves from living tissue staying on or under the ground, including root base, a caudex (a thickened part of the stem at ground level) or numerous kinds of underground stems, such as light 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 & most grasses. In comparison, non-herbaceous perennial crops are woody plants which have stems above floor that continue to be alive during the dormant season and grow shoots another time from the above-ground parts - these include trees and shrubs, shrubs and vines.

Freesia Wallpaper

Purple Star Freesia c 2009 Patty Hankins