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 praecox is a rare South African endemic species found on the foothills of the Riviersonderend Mountains north of Riviersonderend in Western Cape. It occurs in crevices in sandstone rocks on moist, shaded south-facing slopes.