[4] It is similar in form to Iris virginica,[5] The flowers are normally never seen above the foliage,[6][4][7] due to the short zig-zagging flower stems and occasionally, due to the habit of the stems to lie along the floor,[8] or it is often decumbent (meaning the branches growing horizontally but turned up at the ends).

[9] It has a shallowly rooted, branching rhizome (about 10–25 mm in diameter),[10] that can eventually form large colonies of plants (2 x 3 ft wide).

[18] It begins blooming in early to mid summer,[11] from April to mid-July,[17][13][7] or June (in the UK).

[17][6][12] The large flowers are 3.5 to 5 inches (8.9 to 12.7 centimetres) across,[17][4][11] with horizontal falls (sepals) that arch downward and upright standards (petals).

[6][15][3] The petals are dark-veined and smaller than the sepals, which have a yellow (or whitish-yellow) signal patch or stripe.

[7][10][16] Inside the irregular, circular seeds have a cork-like coating which allows them to float and thus aid in dispersal in its wet habitat.

[37] Michael Foster was the first botanist and author to realise that Iris brevicaulis Raf.

[38] Later authors agreed with this assessment, including Brian Mathew (The Iris, 1981) and Clive Innes (The World of Iridaceae).

[39] It is found in Ontario, Canada,[4][26][27] up as far north as the north-east shore of Lake Erie.

[27] Also in many southeastern states of the United States, including Alabama (along various rivers,[20]), Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,[41] Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (Leavenworth,[27]), Kentucky,[42] Louisiana, Mississippi (around the Mississippi River basin,[21][3]), Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

[27] It will grow in moist fields, damp prairies, wet meadows, moist woodlands, streams, riverbanks, marsh areas, around lakes, around ponds, in ravines at the base of wooded slopes (in Missouri[14]) and in 'Bottomlands' (areas of low-lying alluvial land near a river).

[20][5][9] In places where moisture is generally high during the growing seasons (of fall (autumn), winter and spring).

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) listed the Iris as a high priority candidate for assessment as a species at risk.

[4][15][22] For best flowering, moisture is essential during late autumn, winter and spring times (October to May), when the plant starts to grow new leaves.

[44][45] They can be used planted by the edges of ponds, streams and pools,[28] (or a bog garden),[17] or woodland border.

[14][22] Once established they are thought to be a reliable source for fresh cut flowers and they can tolerate damage from deer.

The ground must be prepared pre-planting, with the addition of a generous amount of organic matter and the soils dug to about six inches deep (to allow for new root growth).

[4] Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting.

If mistakenly eaten it could cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and an elevated temperature.

[13] They are pollinated in different ways, the hummingbirds must use their head to push back the iris' petals in order to gain access to the nectar.

[57] Other Iris brevicaulis cultivars include; 'Alabamensis', 'All Falls', 'Boonensis', 'Brevipes', 'Finders Keepers', 'Foliosa Alba', 'Mac's White', 'Meadow Frost', 'Mississippiensis', 'Ottine', 'Petite And Sweet', 'Pink Joy Roberts', 'Slowpoke', 'Territorial Rights', 'Trail Of Tears', 'Triple Treat'.