It has glaucous short leaves, tall stems with several branches, numerous flowers in various colours from blue-purple, lavender, pale blue, cream, white and yellow, with brown veining and white tipped orange beards.

[10] The stem has spathes (leaves of the flower bud), which are green, 2.5–7.6 cm (1–3 in) long and scarious above.

From blue-purple,[8][11][12]: 125  lavender,[2][4] pale blue,[3][8][13] white,[2][5][8] cream,[3][5] and yellow,[2][9][13] or blended.

[12]: 17  The hafts (the section of petal closest to them stem), are white with brown-purple,[7] or brown veins.

[11][12]: 125  In the centre of the falls are beards, row of small hairs, white tipped with orange.

[12]: 18 Iris junonia was found to be tetraploid,[2][3] based on material from specimens collected,[3] and had a count of 2n=48.

[2][17] The Latin specific epithet junonia refers to the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter.

[19] Specimens were found by Walter Siehe of Mersina,[20] in the Turkish mountains, and he sent them to Haage and Schmidt of Erfurt, in Germany.

Siehe caused a lot of problems for botanists, because he also sent other iris plant specimens under the same name.

[4] It was first published and described by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott & Karl Georg Theodor Kotschy in Österreichisches Botanisches Wochenblatt (in Vienna) Vol.4 page 209 in 1854.

[10] it is endemic of Sicilian Taurus (a hill for which the city of Taormina was named)[13] It grows in the dry,[27] meadows, beside roadside and beside paths.

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