It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from South west China, including Myanmar (or Burma) and Tibet.

[2] It forms thick, creeping rhizomes, that create dense tufts of plants with stems and leaves of similar length.

[3][4] It has linear leaves that are glossy green above but grey-green beneath, measuring 15–45 cm (6–18 inches) long and 3–10 mm wide.

[3] It has 3 drooping falls, that have a violet tip and a wide blade with a white or yellow patch, that has purple or blue-violet markings, stripes or veins.

[12] It is written as 西南鸢尾 in Chinese script,[3] and known as xi nan yuan wei in Pidgin in China.

[12] The Latin specific epithet bulleyana refers to Arthur Bulley, a wealthy cotton trader from Liverpool, who funded many garden hunters including George Forrest and Frank Kingdon-Ward.

[14][15] It was first published and described by William Rickatson Dykes in The Gardeners' Chronicle Volume 47, (p. 418), in 1910.

[16] Dykes has made his description on plants that were raised by Mr Arthur Bulley, that been collected in 1908 by George Forrest when he had found Iris forrestii.

[17] He later raised plants from seeds that had been presented to him, by Sir David Prain, director of the Royal Botanic Garden.

[3][4][13] It is found specifically on the Hengduan mountains of Tibet,[19] also in Pudacuo National Park in south-west Yunnan.

[20] White-flowered forms which were called Iris bulleyana f. alba are restricted to Yunnan.

They will tolerate temperatures of up to −10 degrees C. But may survive lower if protected or well mulched in winter.

[7] They prefer soils with a ph level of 5.5 to 7 (acidic to neutral ) and more moisture tolerant.

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

[24] In the 2014, RHS Chelsea Flower Show, The Waterscape Garden designed by Hugo Bugg, uses Iris bulleyana as well as many other irises and plants.