Freesia is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1866 by Christian Friedrich Ecklon (1886) and named after the German botanist and medical practitioner, Friedrich Freese (1795–1876). It is native to the eastern side of southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa, most species being found in Cape Provinces. Species of the former genus Anomatheca are now included in Freesia. The plants commonly known as "freesias", with fragrant funnel-shaped flowers, are cultivated hybrids of a number of Freesia species. Some other species are also grown as ornamental plants.
Gladiolus is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae).
Babiana is a genus of geophytes in the family Iridaceae with 93 recognized species as of March 2022. The leaves consist of a stalk and a blade that are at an angle to each other. The leaf blades are entire, laterally flattened and pleated, and often hairy. Each individual flower is subtended by two hairy or smooth bracts that are green in most species. The outer bract is often the largest of the two. In most species the bracts have a dry, brown tip, but in a few species it is entirely green or entirely dry when flowering or the outer bract is translucent and has a papery texture. The inner bract is forked or split all the way to its base. Each flower is without a pedicel, with six tepals that are merged at their base into a tube and form a perianth that is mirror-symmetrical in most species, with three anthers implanted where the perianth tube widens and that are, in almost every species, clustered at one side of the style. The style has three branches that widen towards the tip and the ovary is inferior. Flowers occur in almost every conceivable colour, many have markings on some of the tepals, and few star-symmetrical flowers have a centre that strongly contrasts with the free part of the perianth. The majority of these species are endemic to the west and southwest of South Africa, and southwestern Namibia, but one species occurs elsewhere in Namibia and South Africa and another species can be found in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Chacma baboon, Papio ursinus, that consumes the corms of plants in the genus. The genus is called bobbejaantjie in Afrikaans, meaning small baboon.
Ixia is a genus of cormous plants native to South Africa from the family Iridaceae. Some of them are known as the corn lily. Some distinctive traits include sword-like leaves and long wiry stems with star-shaped flowers. It usually prefers well-drained soil. The popular corn lily has specific, not very intense fragrance. It is often visited by many insects such as bees. The Ixia are also used sometimes as ornamental plants. The genus is endemic to the Cape Provinces of western South Africa.
Dietes is a genus of six rhizomatous plant species of the iris family Iridaceae, first described collectively in 1866. Common names for the different species include wood iris, fortnight lily, African iris, Japanese iris and butterfly iris. Globally, these common names may differ from region to region, and may also apply to one or more species within Dietes.
Watsonia is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, subfamily Crocoideae. Watsonias are native to southern Africa. The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th-century British botanist.
Lachenalia is a genus of bulbous perennial plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, which are usually found in Namibia and South Africa. Most of them have a dormancy period, but new roots will always grow every year.
Tritonia is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family first described as a genus in 1802. They are naturally distributed across southern Africa, with a high concentration of species in Cape Province of western South Africa. The genus is closely related to the genus Ixia.
Moraea, the Cape tulips, is a genus of plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1758. The group is widespread across Africa, the Mediterranean, and central and southwestern Asia. The genus name is a tribute to the English botanist Robert More.
Aristea is a genus of evergreen, perennial and rhizomatous species of flowering plants in the family Iridaceae, first described in 1789. The genus is distributed in tropical and southern Africa, as well as Madagascar. The genus name is derived from the Greek word arista, meaning "awn".
Hesperantha is a genus of cormous flowering plants in the family Iridaceae. The genus name is derived from the Greek words hesperos, meaning "evening", and anthos, meaning "flower".
Lapeirousia is a genus in the plant family Iridaceae. It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, about a third of the species occurring in fynbos.
Sparaxis grandiflora, the plain harlequin flower, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Sparaxis, family Iridaceae, found in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Babiana mucronata is a perennial plant species that grows to about 5–18 cm (2.0–7.1 in) high and annually forms leaves and flowers from an underground corm. It is assigned to the iris family. It has a simple or branched, more or less upright spike of 3-12 dark to pale violet-blue, mirror-symmetrical flowers. Each flower consists of a perianth that is merged below into a funnel-shaped tube of 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long but splits into six unequal tepals. Three stamens are curved, crowded near the upper lip, and carry pale violet anthers. Flowers may be found between late July and September.
