Freylinia is a genus of flowering shrubs and small trees in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, order Lamiales, native to Africa. The genus comprises around nine species, all of which are endemic to or centred in southern Africa, where they occur in a range of moist habitats from coastal lowlands to stream margins and wetland edges.
Members of the genus are characterised by their graceful, willow-like foliage borne on long arching or drooping branches. Flowers are typically tubular bells in shades of yellow to white, often honey-scented, and are produced over an extended season. The fruits are small dry capsules. Most species are multi-stemmed evergreen shrubs, though some individuals develop a single-stemmed, weeping tree form reaching up to 4.5 metres in height.
The best-known species is Freylinia lanceolata, the honey bell-bush, which is widely cultivated in southern African gardens for its fragrant golden-yellow flowers and its value as a habitat plant. Its blooms attract butterflies, bees, and insectivorous birds including barbets, orioles, and robins. Freylinia tropica is another species frequently grown in cultivation.
Etymology
The genus name honours Count L. de Freylino, in whose garden at Buttigliera near Marengo, Italy, the type species Freylinia lanceolata was first cultivated in 1817. Being a new and attractive plant at the time, it attracted considerable attention among botanists and horticulturalists.
Distribution
Freylinia is an African genus with all nine species occurring in southern Africa. Freylinia lanceolata ranges from Namaqualand and Calvinia in the Northern Cape south and west through the Western Cape and east to the Eastern Cape, growing in moist areas along streams, on the edges of marshes, and beside vleis. Other species such as Freylinia tropica extend the genus's range into warmer, more tropical parts of the subcontinent.
Ecology
The tubular, honey-scented flowers attract a wide range of insects, which in turn draw insectivorous birds such as the blackheaded oriole, pied and crested barbets, Cape robin, and thrushes. The genus thus plays a notable role in supporting local pollinator and bird communities within its native southern African habitats.
Cultivation
Freylinia lanceolata and F. tropica are both cultivated in southern African gardens. Plants are easily raised from seed — tiny wingless seeds germinate within about three weeks — or from stem cuttings taken in summer. Young plants grow quickly under good conditions and may flower within a couple of seasons. They prefer a sunny position with moisture-retentive, compost-enriched soil, and benefit from regular watering and mulching. Wind-resistant and frost-hardy to approximately -2°C, they adapt to both summer and winter rainfall regions. Plants can be pruned freely to maintain shape or trained as a single-stemmed weeping tree.
