Garden Freesia (Freesia refracta) — identification, habitat & look-alikes

Freesia refracta is a wild freesia from the Western Cape of South Africa, with small, pale greenish-yellow or dull white flowers marked bright orange inside. The big, colorful freesias sold by florists in the U.S. are mostly hybrids of other species, not this one. Its scent varies from plant to plant—some have none, others smell strongly of rose and violet.

Appearance

Growth form: A perennial that grows from a small , resting through summer and growing in the cool season.
Flowers: Stands 6–16 in (15–40 cm) tall, with a horizontal to drooping spike of 5–10 funnel-shaped flowers all facing one way. The outside is flushed purple, and the three lower petals each have a dark brownish midline.
Flowering time: July to September in South Africa (southern winter to early spring).

Look-alikes

garden freesiaFreesia × kewensis

Garden hybrids are taller and sturdier, with flowers in white, yellow, pink, red, or blue-mauve, and are often less fragrant. Wild F. refracta has small, pale greenish-yellow to dull white flowers.

Why they get mixed upGarden freesias are often labeled with this species' name. The common florist's freesia is this human-made hybrid.

scarlet freesiaFreesia laxa

Its flowers are flat, about 3/4 in (2 cm) across, instead of funnel-shaped. They are usually red, white, or pale blue, with a darker red or purple mark on the lower petals. It's naturalized in Florida.

Why they get mixed upIt's another small freesia that escapes from gardens.

Where it lives

Typical habitats: dry stony slopes
flats in fynbos
Range: Native to the Western Cape, from Worcester east to the Gouritz River and through the Little Karoo to De Rust. It isn't known to grow wild in the U.S., where the freesias seen in gardens are hybrids.
Preferred conditions: Grows on many soils, including shale, sandstone, and limestone. It's fairly common in its range.

Growing it

Care: Garden freesia corms are sold cheaply, and some are heat-treated so they bloom soon after planting. This wild species is prone to viruses.
Propagation: Increased by its corms.

Name and classification

About the name: Garden freesias were long credited to this species, but the white-flowered plant used in 19th-century breeding, once treated as a white variety of this species, is now placed under Freesia leichtlinii. Modern garden freesias are treated as the hybrid Freesia × kewensis, a cross of F. corymbosa and that white-flowered plant.

Conservation

IUCN Red List: NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories: The genus honors German physician Friedrich Freese; it was named by the Danish plant collector Ecklon.
Freesia scent can't be captured by ordinary solvent extraction, so perfumers analyzed the air around living blooms to recreate it.