Freesia praecox J.C.Manning & Goldblatt

Plants 60-300 mm high. Corm conic, 10-20 mm diam., tunics pale, of medium-textured fibres, accumulating with age but not forming collar. Stem flexed outward above uppermost sheath and then suberect, minutely puberulous, usually simple. Leaves 6 to 9(-11), prostrate or suberect, usually slightly longer than stem, narrowly lanceolate, 50-200(-250) x 4-10(-14) mm, tapering-attenuate. Spike lightly flexed to horizontal, 3-to 8-flowered; bracts obovate, herbaceous, green with hyaline margins, 5-10(-12) mm long, acute or lower weakly tridentate, inner slightly shorter. Flowers (30-)35-45 mm long, white, usually flushed dull purple on reverse of tepals, base of lower median tepal (rarely lower laterals also) marked yellow-orange, lower tepals, especially laterals, with purple or mauve veins in basal half, strongly violet-scented; perianth tube (15-)20-30 mm long with basal narrow part 5-9 mm long, widening abruptly into wider, flared upper portion; tepals with dorsal largest, suberect, oblong-elliptic, 13-22 x 6-10 mm, upper laterals slightly narrower, oblong, lower tepals recurved, lower laterals oblong-elliptic, 15-20 x 6-8 mm, lower median oblong, 12-20 x 5-7 mm. Filaments arcuate, 15-20 mm long, included; anthers 4-6 mm long. Style dividing at or slightly beyond anther apices. Capsules ovoid, 11-12 x 8-9 mm, papillate-verrucose. Seeds obliquely globose with inflated chalaza and raphe, 2.0-3.0 mm diam., finely wrinkled, glossy reddish brown.