Common name: Freesia
Freesia hybrid APNI* 
Description: Herb 10–40 cm high; corm c. 15 mm diam., with tunic of fine pale fibres; bulbils produced in lower leaf axils.
Leaves 4–8 basal, linear, sword-shaped, 8–27 cm long, 5–10 mm wide.
Flowering stem wiry, unbranched; spike 3–7-flowered; spathe bracts herbaceous, truncate, 5–10 mm long, with hyaline margins. Perianth white to cream, with yellow markings, shaded purple on outside of tube; tube 2–3.5 cm long, narrow in basal 6–10 mm, expanded above; lobes elliptic, obtuse, 10–20 mm long, 6–15 mm wide, dorsal lobe slightly hooded, other lobes narrower, spreading. Ovary c. 4 mm long; style exceeding anthers.
Capsule 10–15 mm long, wrinkled, green; seeds 3–4 mm diam., brown to black. Flower Aug.-Oct.
Distribution and occurrence: along roadsides and in wasteland; naturalized in the Sydney region.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *NWS
Other Australian states: *Vic. *W.A. *S.A.
Although a few naturalized Freesia specimens are referable either to F. leichtlinnii subsp. alba or to F. leichltlinii subsp. leichtlinii, the majority appear to be hybrids between these two subspecies.
Text by T. A. James & E. A. Brown (1993); edited KL Wilson (Jan 2016)
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 4 (1993)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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