Freesia viridis is a perennial, geophyte endemic to the Northern Cape and the Western Cape. The species occurs from Hondeklip Bay to Bok Bay. The plant has lost its habitat to urban development.
It was first described as Gladiolus viridis by William Aiton in 1789. It was moved to the genus Freesia as Freesia viridis by Peter Goldblatt and John Charles Manning in 1995.
The specific epithet viridis means green.
It has two varieties: