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 viridis, synonymously known as Anomatheca viridis, is more of a collector’s plant with greenish flowers. It is a South African endemic species found on stony clay and limestone, occasionally sandstone in the north and south Western Cape and flowers winter into spring. Some populations are unscented during the day and rose scented at night.