It is a rhizomatous perennial, endemic to the southern and central United States.

Iris fulva has slender greenish-brown rhizome (or occasionally red,[3][4]) that has the (ring-like) scars of old leaves (from previous seasons).

[7][8] Which eventually spread out to create large clumps around 1–2 feet wide.

[3][7] The flower stem is generally straight with one or two branches (or joints), and can reach up to a height of between 45–80 cm (18–31 in).

[3][10] Iris fulva is unusual, as its six-petalled flowers all droop away from the middle section.

[3][4][6] Like other Louisiana irises they are covered in a cork-like substance, which allows them to float on the water (within the swamp habitats) to new locations.

[5][26] It was then first published and described by John Bellenden Ker Gawler in the Botanical Magazine Issue 36 of 1812.

[16] John James Audubon illustrated a pair of Northern Parulas in Birds of America, (published, London 1827–38), Plate 15 entitled "Blue Yellow-backed Warbler – Sylvia americana".

[24] Iris fulva comes from the southern United States, including Arkansas,[22][24] Illinois,[7][17][24] (in the LaRue swamp on the Big Muddy River[30]), Kentucky,[8][17][24] Louisiana,[4][24] (in the Mississippi valley,[13][19]) Mississippi, (along the banks of the Mississippi River, rarer on the eastern side),[4][17][24] Missouri,[12][24] Ohio, (Champaign County, Clark County,[6]), Georgia,[9][17] Florida (only found rarely in Santa Rosa County,[20]) and Tennessee.

[8][11][24] Iris fulva is found in freshwater, in marshes, stream banks, field or roadside ditches,[15] in drainage canals, swamps,[20] and wet pastures.

Which are under threats from dredging operations, also swamps that are being drained and 'toxic' farm herbicides running into ditches and streams.

[7][14][32] For best flowering, moisture is essential during late autumn, winter and spring times (October to May), when the plant starts to grow new leaves.

[14][15] Also the rhizomes must be covered in gravel to stop fish disturbing the roots.

[7] They also can be grown in containers (even in the water or bog garden) but they must be re-potted and divided every year.

The ground must be prepared pre-planting, with the addition of a generous amount of organic matter and the soils dug to about 6 inches deep (to allow for new root growth).

[12][37] Iris fulva can easily hybridize with other Louisiana irises to create new variants.

The hybrids were found to be good garden plants and could flower more freely than either of the parents.

[3] Several American garden nurseries and plant breeders have created many Iris fulva cultivars including, 'Apricot Queen', 'August Flame', 'Autumn Fire', 'Baby Sis Pink' 'Bayou Bandit', 'Bayou Goula', 'Bazeti', 'Bolshevik', 'Bronze Red', 'Chocolate', 'Choctaw Tribe', 'Couperin', 'Cuprea', 'Devil's Advocate', 'Devil's Scion', 'Dwarf Terracotta', 'Dwarf Yellow', 'Edith Dupre', 'Encarnado', 'Esplanade', 'Flash', 'Fulvaflav', 'Fulvaflav', 'Fulva Special', 'Fulvaurea', 'Galloway-Lanoke', 'Georgia Peach', 'Golden Arrowhead', 'Gold In California', 'Gold Medallion', 'Gulf Sunshine', 'Karandash', 'Kraemer Tan', 'Kraemer Yellow', 'Le Vieux Carre', 'Louisiana Sunset', 'Margot Castellanos', 'Maringouin Freak', 'Maringouin Fulva', 'Marvell Gold', 'Mc Gregor', 'Red Fire', 'Sazerac', 'Slick Willie'.

[9] Because both the foliage and rhizomes are deadly toxic, most mammalian herbivores usually leave iris untouched, although the muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) occasionally feeds on their rhizomes and lower stems and the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) sometimes nibbles the leaf edges.