[3] It has a very short stem, green spathes (leaves of the flower bud) and perianth tube 5–9 cm (2.0–3.5 in) long.

[3] After the iris has flowered, it produces a cylindrical with a short beak seed capsule.

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

It was named after the first Russian military Governor of Semirechye Oblast in modern Kazakhstan Gerasim Alexeevich Kolpakovsky [Wikidata].

[13] The iris was first described by Eduard August von Regel in the Botanical Magazine No.6489 in 1880.

[17] It grows on the hillsides,[18] and open grassy slopes,[3] in wet sticky clay that dries out in summer.