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.

Freesia laxa is a South African indigenous species from the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. It is widespread across eastern South Africa from the Mpumalanga Escarpment to Port Elizabeth and extending northwards through eastern tropical Africa. It grows to 45cm tall and is usually found in moist shady places.