They are cultivated as ornamental plants in temperate regions It has very short rhizomes,[2] about 1 cm in diameter.

[3][4][5] Beneath the rhizome, are secondary roots that grow deep into the ground.

[5] They are dark green with waxy surfaces,[3][4] linear, and gradually tapered to an acute apex (or point).

[3] The stem has 3 or 4, membranous, spathes or bracts (leaves of the flower bud).

[2][3][4] It has 1.2 cm wide filaments,[3] which are blue at top and cream below,[4] or very pale violet.

[3][4] After the iris has flowered, in September,[2] it produces a thin ellipsoid seed capsule, that are 5 cm (2 in) long, with an acute apex.

[11] As most irises are diploid (having two sets of chromosomes ), this can be used to identify hybrids and classification of groupings.

[11] It is written as 长管鸢尾 in Chinese script,[2] and known as chang guan yuan wie in Pidgin.

The seed of the plant was collected in 1984 by David Long and Alan Sinclair from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh from Bhutan.

that many previously collected specimens of Iris kemaonensis in various herbaria, were in fact of Iris dolichosiphon, due to the fact that the range of dolichosiphon extended into Bhutan, but kemaonensis does not.

Even William Rickatson Dykes had identified some specimens as Iris potaninii.

It grows in alpine meadows, open grassy hillsides,[4] and on limestone cliffs.

[2][4][6] They can be found among shrubs such as Lonicera webbiana, Berberis virescens and Rhododendron campanulatum subsp.

[6] It is very difficult to grow from seed, thought to be self-incompatible, therefore propagation must be done by division.

orientalis is similar in form to the main species but has more blotching on falls.

[8] It is written as 大锐果鸢尾 in Chinese script and known as dong fang yuan wei in Pidgin.

[3] It is found in China, (in Yunnan and Sichuan,[18][20]) India and Burma,[8] in Assam (near Arunachal and Pradesh).