Description:

• Deciduous perennials
• Rootstock an obconic corm rooting from below, basal in origin, tunics finely to coarsely fibrous
• Stem aerial, erect, or prostrate below, simple or branched, terete or compressed and angled
• Leaves several, lower 2 or 3 cataphylls; foliage leaves unifacial, with a distinct midrib, in a distichous fan, blades plane, firm or soft-textured, sometimes prostrate
• Inflorescence a spike, flexed at base, flowers borne on upper side; bracts green and soft-textured or coriaceous, often brown at apices, inner shorter than outer, notched apically
• Flowers zygomorphic, hypocrateriform or narrowly to widely funnel-shaped, shades of white to yellow or pink to red, rarely greenish to brown, sometimes with contrasting darker markings on lower 3 tepals, usually strongly and sweetly scented, nectar, when produced, from septal nectaries; perianth tube either slender and cylindric throughout or narrow below, widened into a narrowly or broadly flared upper part
• Tepals subequal or dorsal larger and hooded
• Stamens unilateral and arcuate; filaments arising at base of wide part of tube; anthers included or exserted; pollen monosulcate, operculate, exine perforate
• Style filiform, branches deeply divided and recurved
• Capsules ± globose, coriaceous, usually papillate to rugose
• Seeds globose, hard, shiny, smooth or rugulose, raphe inflated, flattened or concave at chalazal end, surface laevigate
• x = 11

Classification Notes:

• The genus is probably allied to Tritonia and Crocosmia

Nomenclature:

• Freesia Klatt
  • Klatt: 672 (1866) name conserved
  • Goldblatt: 55 (1982)
  • Goldblatt & Manning: 161 (1995)
• Anomatheca Ker Gawl.
  • Ker Gawler: 227 (1804)
  • Goldblatt: 75 (1972)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species 14, mainly in the southern Africa. winter-rainfall region, 2 species in E South Africa and south tropical Africa, 1 extending to Sudan
• Southern Africa:
  • Most common in clay soils in renosterveld or karroid scrub
  • The 2 species of the summer-rainfall region occur in light shade in woodland or forest margins

Additional Notes:

• The often highly scented flowers are mostly pollinated by bees, while the narrow-tubed unscented species are visited by butterflies and possibly moths